Moving On
by xostelenaox
Summary: Stefan Salvatore had everything that he could ever ask for. A good job, a wife, and a now growing family. Then tragedy strikes and he feels like he shouldn't move on with his life. AU & AH
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Stefan Salvatore once had everything that he could ever want. He had a house in the small town of Mystic Falls, a good job, a wife, and a now 4 year old daughter. His daughter, Arianna Rose Salvatore was born and his wife Rebekah died at the same time. She was never able to hold her or to see her.

**xxxxxx**

"_Okay Mrs. Salvatore. One more big push and your daughter will be here." Stefan was standing at the head of the bed, by his wife's head, holding her hand while she squeezed with all her might so that their daughter could be born. Right after she pushed and the room filled with a newborn baby cry, he looked over at Rebekah and seen that her head was facing the other way. Some of the doctors were preoccupied with the newborn to even notice but the doctor that delivered his daughter, Meredith Fell, noticed that Rebekah looked pale. Running over to her, she checked her pulse and gave a panic stricken look to Stefan._

"_We need a crash cart!" She yelled and one of the other doctors ushered Stefan out of the room while going to grab the crash cart._

"_What's going on?!" He yelled into the room and one of the doctors shut the door in his face. His wife and daughter were in there and there was nothing that he could do. They wouldn't allow him in there._

_All that he could do was wait. And wait. He decided to get his brother Damon who was waiting in the waiting room to inform him of what was going on. In the middle of the story, Dr. Fell came out to find him. He went over to her and she looked down at the floor with a sad expression on her face._

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Salvatore." She looked up to see tears in his eyes. It's like he already knew what she was going to say without even having to say it. "We did everything he could. We lost her."_

_Stefan crumbled to the floor with his head now in his hands and his brother ran over to him. Kneeling beside him he looked up into Dr. Fells eyes. "What happened?"_

_Damon felt Stefan shudder under his embrace, knowing that he was afraid of what she was going to say even though she had already told him the worst news someone could possibly receive._

"_We discovered that your wife had an aneurism. With the excessive amount of pushing that she had to do, it just burst which caused her to have excessive internal bleeding. We tried to start her heart again. We tried multiple times but she wouldn't come back to us." Slowly, Damon stood up bringing his brother up with him. Dr. Fell gently touched Stefan's arm. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Salvatore. My heart goes out to you and your daughter." Stefan couldn't hold it in anymore. He just broke down and watched as the doctor turned and walked away._

_Damon led him over to one of the chairs in the waiting room and sat him down. Stefan had his elbows on his knees with his hands in his face and he just cried. He cried until he had nothing left in him and that's when Damon spoke. "You need to go see her." Stefan looked up with his tear stained face and stared blankly at his brother._

"_I can't." He managed to get out between his now reoccurring sobs._

"_You have to, brother. Go say your goodbyes and then go see your daughter."_

"_I can't go see her alone." Stefan said standing up. Damon followed suit and they found Dr. Fell again, asking for permission for Stefan to say goodbye to his wife. She said it was okay but not to stay in there long because they had to take her downstairs. She told them that they decided to wait because they knew that Stefan would want to come to say goodbye to his wife._

_What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life, ended up being happy and tragic all at the same time. He became a dad the same day that he lost his wife. Damon stood by the door and watched as his little brother went to his wife's side. He watched as he took her lifeless hand in his own and cried some more. Figuring he should give him some space, he quietly backed out the door and walked in the direction toward the nursery so that he could say his baby niece. While looking through the glass, he decided it would be best to call his fiancé Bonnie Bennett to tell her what happened. She couldn't leave work when Damon called to tell her that Rebekah was in labor._

"_Hello?" He heard on the other end and he just went straight into the sob story. "I'm coming there now." Then the line went dead. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Stefan walking his way. They both stood staring through the glass and seeing his daughter. His nameless daughter._

**xxxxxx**

It took Stefan weeks to come to terms with Rebekah not being by his side. For the first couple of days of Arianna's life, he couldn't even bear to look at her. He knew that it wasn't right or fair to her but it hurt him because she looked so much like Rebkeah. Their resemblance was uncanny. Arianna had Rebekah's full lips and nose. The only thing she had of Stefan was his eye color. The deep green that Rebekah loved so much. He visited her every day after he dropped Arianna off at the day care that she went to while he went to work.

He sat by her headstone and talks to her. Sometimes when he's finished talking to her a leaf would fall on top of the headstone. He liked to think that was her way of saying that she was there. That she was with him every day that went by. Signaling that he wasn't alone and he was never going to be alone.

He felt it, though. Lonely. How could he not? He once had everything that he wanted, a growing family in the town that he grew up in with his high school sweet heart. Now he has his daughter. He wouldn't trade her for the world, though. He loves her with all his heart and he makes sure that she's well taken care for. Yes, he spoils her, but Arianna is his baby girl and he regrets everyday that the first few days of her life, he couldn't bear to look at his baby girl.

Stefan and Rebekah used to talk about this. About one day if one of them wasn't around, they would move on with their life. They wouldn't dwell in the past. They promised each other this but Stefan couldn't even think about moving on with his life. Damon and his wife Bonnie both told him that it's what she would have wanted, and even though it's true, he can't bear to do it. He feels like if he went out with another woman, he's somehow cheating on Rebekah and betraying her. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't do that to her memory.

"Brother, what are you doing to yourself?" He heard from behind him. He turned around from the headstone that he was facing to face his brother instead and he stood up so that they were somewhat at eye level, even though Stefan is a little taller.

"I'm visiting, Damon." He said staring into the icy blue eyes of his older brother. "I come here every day. You know that."

"I know you do, Stef. But you're torturing yourself." Damon and Stefan rarely got along before but the day that Arianna was born, the day that Rebekah died, they grew closer. They bonded. Damon had actually been there for him through the wake, the funeral, the memorial, everything. And Stefan couldn't help but feel eternally grateful for his brother because he's the one that got on his case about how he was acting the first few days of Arianna's life when he took her home.

"I'm not torturing myself, Damon. I know that's Bekah is never coming back but I still like to talk to her." Damon looked at his brother as if he was crazy. "Don't look at me like that, brother. It helps me …." Stefan tried to think of the right word. "Cope. Talking to her helps me cope."

"You promised each other that you would move on. That's what you need to do. For your sake, and your daughters."

"I know I need to, brother. But it's not right. I can't bring myself to do it. What if you were in my situation? Do you think that you could move on if God forbid something ever happened to Bonnie?" Stefan could see right through his brother and knew what his answer was going to be before he even answered. "It wouldn't be so easy, would it, Damon?" Damon just shook his head '_no_' instead of answering. "I'll get there. Eventually. Just not now."

"Okay."

"I have to get to work. I'll talk to you later. Tell Bonnie hi for me."

"Okay." Damon said and then turned and walked away. It was then that he realized that he wasn't sitting in Mystic Falls Cemetery alone. Sitting just a about four plots down, he noticed a woman that seemed to be around his age. She stood up from her seat on the ground and turned in his direction. He could make out the warm brown eyes that she had and her long brown hair that was a little past her shoulders. He could tell that she has full lips and full face, not too sunken in so her cheekbones would stick out.

The wind blew and a leaf fell on Rebekah's headstone breaking him out of his trance. But this time around, he couldn't tell if it was her way of telling him that she was there, that she heard everything, or if it was her way of telling him to move on. To find someone knew who could help him through his slump in life.

**A/N** : I had this floating in my head for a while now and just decided to write it to see where it went. Please let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for your reviews! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena Gilbert was the picture of a broken woman. At the age of 25, she had moved back into the little town that she used to call home, Mystic Falls. When she was 15, her parents Miranda and Grayson Gilbert shipped her off to live with her Aunt Jenna in Los Angeles because she was hard to handle. She was staying out all night, not doing her homework and lashing out at her parents and her younger brother, Jeremy. Her parents had no idea how she would even get her hands on it but on the rare occasions that she did come home early, she would come home drunk.

Her and her aunt always had a close bond and she was the only one that was able to get through to her sometimes. Jenna moved to Los Angeles when she was 21 to pursue a career in the music industry. It was her dream to run her own label so she started off interning and eventually, made her way up.

At first, Elena wasn't too thrilled with having to leave Mystic Falls. She was leaving behind her two best friends, Caroline and Bonnie, Jeremy, and her boyfriend Matt. She decided to end things with Matt before she left, saying that she couldn't do the whole long distance thing.

Now at the age of 25, Elena is back in Mystic Falls and this time for good. But it's not for a good reason. She came back for Miranda and Grayson's funeral. They got into a head on collision with a drunk driver and they died instantly. Elena had always felt horrible with the way that she acted when she was younger, and it's even worse now that her parents are no longer here. Yes, she apologized when she talked to them or when they would come out to see her in Los Angeles, and they said that they forgave her but it was better for her to be with her aunt in Los Angeles. In a way, Elena agreed with them. She had finally changed her ways but feared that she would start going back to her old self if she moved back home.

Elena moved back to town mainly for Jeremy. She didn't want him to be alone and let grief over take him. He had his girlfriend Anna but he loved and needed his family so both her and Jenna decided to leave the city of Los Angeles and move back home to Mystic Falls. Considering how hard Jenna worked to get to where she was, she was more than willing to just pack up her belongings and move back home.

Even though she's only been home for two weeks, being home brought on so many memories for Elena. It brought on the memories of the way that she had treated her parents and how she took them for granted. Now she can never take back the way that she had treated them. She tried to visit their gravesites every day. She sat and talked for a while, thinking that maybe they were listening and with her. Caroline called her crazy for doing this but she just didn't understand. Even though her parents had been divorced since she was 14, she still had them in her life.

Elena met up with Bonnie and Caroline when she first came back into town. After she was unpacked at the house that she lived in until her parents shipped her away, she called them to come over. They cried when they seen her. They both always loved Miranda and Grayson, and they loved them as if they were both one of their own. After, they just talked.

Bonnie is married now to someone named Damon Salvatore. She told Elena that he and his brother lived in Mystic Falls all their lives but Elena never met either one of them. Caroline is engaged to Tyler Lockwood, who used to be a total tool but is completely different now. And Matt, well apparently it took Matt a long time to get over Elena. He didn't date anyone else until he was 17 and now he's married to someone named Lexi.

Elena was envious when she had heard all of this. Everyone had moved on and lived their lives and she was stuck. She hasn't been on a date with anyone since last year. In her defense, she was busy helping Jenna out at the record label and getting her associates degree for education but still. Everyone was settled down and she wasn't.

But then she saw those intense green eyes from the man that was standing only a few headstones away from her. She couldn't help but stare at him. His sad, forest green eyes, his sandy brown hair and his chiseled jaw. She could tell he was built, too, even from a few feet away. They both stared at one another for a minute until he broke the eye contact and turned and walked away.

Elena couldn't help but think to herself that now is not the time to be staring at someone like that. They were both in a cemetery for God's sakes. It took everything in her to not go to where he was standing to see who he was visiting. But she looked at her phone and seen that if she didn't get moving now she was going to be late for her volunteer service at the Day Care that Bonnie and Caroline run.

**xxxxxx**

"Sorry I'm late, Bonnie." Elena said, walking through the door of the Day Care. Her dream was to become a teacher and even though she holds a degree, they still want you to have some sort of experience so when she first came back into town, she told Bonnie and Caroline and they told her that they both ran a Day Care so she could volunteer there to get her experience that she needed.

"I see you made a pit stop?" Caroline said to her eyeing the cup of coffee that she clutched in her hand.

"Yeah, it was a late night. Jeremy had Anna over and we just hung out, watching movies, playing games, and talking." Elena took off her jacket and put her purse in the closet near the entrance. "What are we doing with the kids today?"

"Well right now we're finger painting. So prepare to get messy." Caroline said and turned to walk away. Elena quickly finished her coffee, threw away the empty cup and followed where Caroline was heading next to a group of kids. It was only her third day of volunteering so Caroline was still showing her the ropes.

One of the kids painted her a picture. It was a picture of a family and Elena noticed that someone was missing from it. She didn't bother asking Caroline or Bonnie because she knew that it was none of her business. The picture came from a little green eyed girl whose name is Arianna. Elena thought that the gesture was adorable but she still couldn't help but why this little girl would finger paint a family with one person missing.

**xxxxxx**

The day went on and Elena couldn't help but feel extremely happy while working with kids. She wishes that she could work in the Kindergarten class like she always wanted to but it's going to take time to get there. She's happy just volunteering at the Day Care.

The Day Care was ready to close and the parents were coming and going picking up their kids. Caroline and Bonnie had both asked Elena if she would be able to completely close up the Day Care because they both had something to do and figured that she could handle it. She agreed too. How hard can it be to shut the lights off and make sure the windows and doors were locked?

The only child that was left was the little green eyed girl Arianna. Caroline told her that sometimes her dad comes late because he works at a pediatrics office downtown. While they waited, Elena decided to read the little girl a book. '_One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish_' is what Arianna wanted to read. She said that her daddy reads it to her and it is her favorite book. She said he even tries to teach her. Right when Elena was done reading the book, she was just about to get up off the seat that she was sitting in, with Arianna on her lap, to put the book away when she heard the door open.

"Care, I'm so sorry I'm late. I got held up." She looked up and she saw the man that she had seen earlier that morning in the cemetery.

"Daddy!" The little girl screamed. She jumped off of Elena's lap and ran right to her dad. He bent down to pick her up and place her against his hap.

"Hey baby girl. I missed you." He said. He smiles at her and gives her a kiss on her forehead.

"I missed you, too, Daddy." Elena busies herself by putting the book away and then turns when she hears Arianna speak again. "Daddy, this is my new best friend, Elena." She says happily. Elena walks over so that she's standing in front of Arianna and her dad.

"Tell you what, sweetie. Why don't you go and get your jacket out of your cubby and after we can go to The Grill." She nods her head and he puts her down on her feet.

"Can we get ice cream too?"

"Depends. Were you good today?"

"I'm good everyday! Just ask Aunt Bonnie!" Elena heard Aunt Bonnie and realized that the man standing in front of her is Bonnie's brother in law. He's Damon's brother. Damon, who she hasn't even met yet.

"Okay, we can get ice cream after we go to the park, after we eat."

"Okay!" She says excitedly and she runs over to her cubby.

"Be careful!" He says and turns his attention back to Elena.

"So, you're not Caroline."

"No, Caroline and Bonnie had to leave so they asked me to close up." He nods his head.

"I'm Stefan. Stefan Salvatore." He sticks his hand out and Elena shakes it and she couldn't help but feel tingly and lost sort of, after she pulled her hand away.

"I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert."

"Nice meeting you, Elena." Elena wanted to ask him why he stared at her like that in the cemetery but though better of it. She just met the guy and the last thing she wanted to say out loud was '_Why were you staring at me, while you were standing by that grave_?'

"Daddy, can Elena come with us?" Arianna said after she put her jacked on. She looked up at Elena expectantly and Stefan ducked down to her level so that he could zip up her jacket.

"Sorry kiddo. I'm having dinner with my brother tonight." She said looking down at Arianna sad expression. It broke her heart, really. This little girl is adorable and she was attached to Elena's hip all day. They grew close. "Maybe your Aunt Bonnie can bring you over one day. She and I grew up together you know." It hit Stefan like a ton of bricks. When she first said her name it didn't click. Elena Gilbert is Caroline and Bonnie's best friend. Her parents recently died and that would explain why he had seen her in the cemetery.

"Ready baby girl?" Stefan said standing back up and taking her hand.

"Yes. Bye, Elena." She waved her hand.

"Bye, Arianna."

"It was nice meeting you, Elena."

"You too, Stefan." Elena watched as he led his daughter away and out of the building. She shut the lights off and made sure everything was locked up before she grabbed her things out of the closet. She put her jacket on, put her purse over her shoulder and walked out of the day care, heading for her car.

**A/N** : Starting slow I know. But at least they officially met! =D


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for your reviews! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Stefan and Arianna made their way to their usual table in the back of The Grill. Stefan helped Arianna on to the chair so she was sitting across from him.

"What do you want baby girl?" He said, making his way to the other side of the table to sit down.

"I want a hot dog and keshup." Stefan laughed lightly at his daughter. At the age of 4, she couldn't say ketchup the right way and no matter how many times Stefan tried to teach her the right way, she still wasn't getting the hang of it.

"French fries, too?" Stefan watched as the little girl's eyes bugged out of her head, forgetting how much she loves French fries.

"Yes! I love French fries, daddy." She stared at her father with her matching green eyes. "Can I have an apple juice, too?"

"Of course, angel." The waiter came over and Stefan placed their orders. The waiter walked away towards the kitchen. "So what did you do today?"

"I made Elena a picture." Stefan looked at his daughter expectantly, waiting for her to finish her sentence as to what the picture was of. After a moment of complete silence, he decided to break it.

"What was the picture of?"

"Us, daddy. But mommy wasn't in the picture because I never met her." Hearing Arianna say this broke Stefan's heart into a million pieces. He's wanted nothing more than to have Rebekah back with them so that their family could be whole. When she first told him that she was pregnant, she was so happy. She's always wanted a family and he was happy that he was able to give that to her. But then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"Your mommy loved you very much, sweetie." He said as the waiter brought over their drinks. "She's with you every day. Remember that." Stefan saw the sadness in her eyes. But then just as quickly as the sadness appeared, it disappeared just as quickly.

"Isn't Elena pretty, daddy?" She said quickly. Stefan was taken aback by the random outburst from his daughter.

"Yes, she's very pretty. You like her?" He said and the waiter came over with their food. Stefan put ketchup on her hotdog and a little bit on the plate so that she could put some on her French fries. After he set the ketchup bottle down, she picked up her hot dog and took a bite. After she was done chewing, she answered him.

"Yes, that's why I painted her a picture. Duh, daddy." Stefan couldn't help but smile at his daughter.

"She seemed to like you. I saw that she was reading your favorite book to you." She took another bite of her hot dog, and he finished his coffee and set the mug down on the table.

"She reads it better than you do, daddy." Stefan mocked being hurt by her comment and he held his hand over his heart.

"I'm hurt, Ari." She started giggling.

"I'm kidding, daddy!" She said and she finished eating her hot dog and some fries in silence. Stefan finished up eating the same time she did. After he paid for the check, her put her jacket back on and led her outside and towards the car. After she was settled in her seat, he went to the front, got in and started driving towards the park.

**xxxxxx**

Elena was pacing back and forth in the kitchen. She was nervous because she was cooking for everyone and she was never one for the kitchen. Everything she ever made either came out undercooked or burnt. Poor Jenna had suffered from both for years.

"Well, it smells good so that's a sign." She turned around and seen her brother Jeremy standing in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest. She laughed a little bit and walked over to him and pushed his shoulder lightly.

"I just hope that it's edible and you guys don't get food poisoning." Jeremy laughed and gave her a slight smirk.

"So how's Bonnie?" He left his position in the doorframe and walked towards the dining room table and took a seat. Jeremy and Bonnie were close before she moved to California so it didn't come as a shock to her for him asking her about Bonnie.

"She's married now." Elena said taking a seat next to her brother.

"Yeah, I know." Elena realized that she had missed out on a lot over the years and she felt a pang of hurt that Bonnie hadn't even bothered to tell her that she was engaged, never mind married.

"Did you go to her wedding?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Have you met her husband?" She said, stirring the pasta on the stove.

"No, but I've seen them together around town." Jeremy got up from his seat at the table and grabbed plates out of the cabinet. He started setting the table. Elena shut the stove off, took pot holders and made her way over to the sink, wear the strainer was sitting. After she poured it in the strainer and made sure all the water was drained, she poured the past back into the pan, brought it back to the stove and added the sauce. After it was all mixed together, she took the garlic bread out of the oven.

"Dinner's ready!" She yelled up the stairs and Jenna and Anna made their way into the kitchen.

"Wow, Elena. This smells delicious." Jenna said making her way to the table. Elena grabbed the pot holders again and poured the pasta into a big bowl and put the bread on a plate. She brought the things over and placed them on the middle of the table.

"Just because it smells delicious doesn't mean it's going to taste it." Elena said and she started serving everyone. After everyone was served, she sat down in her seat. "Dig in." She said and waited until everyone started eating. She was waiting for their expressions to see if it was good or not. She knew that she wasn't a good cook but she wanted to know what they thought before she started eating.

"This is really good, Elena." Anna said and gave her a light smile.

"Seriously, 'Lena. It's actually edible." Jeremy laughed as she slowly picked her fork off the place it was settled. She took a bite and felt herself relax.

"Who would have thought that I could have made something edible?" Everyone chuckled and continued to eat.

**xxxxxx**

"I don't want to go to bed, daddy." Arianna said while Stefan was covering her up. He knelt down so that he was level with her. He pushed the stray hairs off of her forehead with his hand. He dropped his hand back to the bed.

"You have to, angel."

"Do I get to see Elena again tomorrow, daddy?" Stefan hated how much time he spent away from Arianna but he was glad that he got to see his Aunt Bonnie. She loved her and her and Damon spoiled her. So did Caroline.

"Yes, you do. But don't you want to see Aunt Bonnie and Caroline, too?" She sleepily nodded her head yes.

"I want to see Elena more." Stefan kissed her on her forehead.

"Good night, sweetie. I love you." He said, standing up from his kneeling position.

"Good night, daddy. Love you too." She said and she fell quickly to sleep, even though five minutes before, she didn't want to go to sleep. Stefan shut the light off, leaving the room illuminated with a night light and he closed the door, but left it open a crack.

Stefan made his way into the bedroom that he once shared with Rebekah. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a fresh pair of boxers and went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. After his shower, he went back to his bed to lie down. He had no idea that the last image that he had go through his behind before he drifted off to sleep was in image of him, Arianna and someone else. Elena.

**xxxxxx**

When Elena woke up the next day, she felt refreshed and rejuvenated. For the first time since she's been back, she woke up truly happy. It could have to be with the fact that she didn't cry last night like she's been every night since she found out about her parents. Or it could have been the fact that she enjoyed volunteering at the day care.

The day before, Elena told Bonnie and Caroline that she could be at the Day Care before it opened to help them get things ready for when the kids would arrive. They had 15 kids so they decided that each one of the girls would take five of them in a group. Caroline told Elena that she was going to be on her own today but if needed, Caroline and Bonnie were only a holler away.

Getting out of bed, she looked at the time quickly. It was 7 am and she had to be at the day care for 8 to help them. She got out of bed, went downstairs and ate a quick breakfast. After she was done she went back upstairs, took a shower, and got ready for the day ahead.

**xxxxxx**

"Daddy wake up!" Stefan heard Arianna say climbing on his bed. She was trying to pull the covers off his head but Stefan wasn't having that. He just held on to them tighter, silently laughing underneath the covers. "Daddy!" She wined, pulling on the covers with all her might again. Whenever she whined, Stefan would give up and let her get way. This was an extremely bad habit because now she knows what to do to get her way. Arianna was a smart little girl.

Stefan slowly started removing the covers from over his head. She pulled the covers down and he sat up, leaning against the headboard. "Ew, daddy. You need to put a shirt on. That's gross." She said pointing to his bare chest. Laughing, he got up off the bed and went to his dresser, pulling out a random t-shirt and throwing it on.

"Better?"

"Much. I want breakfast now." She climbed off the bed and ran into the kitchen, waiting for Stefan to follow.

"What do you want to eat, kiddo?"

"Hmmm…." She sat at the kitchen table, index finger tapping her chin, pondering what she wanted to have for breakfast. "Pancakes." She said finally deciding.

"Pancakes it is then." He got the things ready and started to make her breakfast.

**xxxxxx**

Elena walked into the day care carrying three coffee cups, one for each of them. Caroline had greeted her, being there five minutes before Elena. She took the cups out of her hand so that Elena could take her jacket off and put that and her purse inside the closet.

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked Caroline, turning the corner and following her to the nearby table.

"She called me and said that she was going to be a little late. Apparently Damon was throwing some sort of hissy fit over something this morning." Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Anything serious?" I asked her, taking a sip of my coffee.

"The less I know the better." Caroline said and she shrugged. She started setting up the different areas that there was in the day care. There was a block area that had little Lego's and Linking Logs. There was even a little chalk board in the area. There was another area for painting, which was used yesterday for finger painting. There was a little house area that had one of those fake stoves and there were cubbies inside the area with dolls and play house things, etc.

The door opened and they both turned their heads to see Bonnie standing there, hands on her hips. She made her way over to where Elena and Caroline were standing.

"Tough night, Bon?" Elena asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks. And yes. Damon can just be so …." She was trying to think of the right word to say. "Ughh sometimes. I love him but …. God!" Elena held back asking what happened, knowing it was none of her business.

"When am I going to meet this infamous Damon, Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"You'll meet him today. He's dropping by around lunch time." Bonnie busied herself by finding something that has to be set up.

"I met his brother." Bonnie turned and eyed Elena. Same with Caroline. It was starting to creep her out, not knowing why they were looking at her like that. "He came to get Arianna. You guys had both left." Caroline grinned sheepishly at Bonnie and Bonnie gave Caroline the same grin. Elena thought, _these two have officially lost their minds_.

**A/N** : No Stelena action in this one but there will be. I'm still setting things up and I don't want them to rush into anything. Sorry it's taking me longer than usual to update. I've been very busy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for your reviews! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

"Bonnie, you never told me that you had a brother in law. Or a niece." Bonnie gave Elena an apologetic look.

"Sorry, 'Lena." She said, finishing setting up with one of the stations.

"I saw him in the cemetery yesterday, too. I went to my parent's gravesite and I saw him but I had no idea who he was." Both Bonnie and Caroline gave Elena an almost distraught look. Elena caught on to it but decided not to press the subject because in all actuality, it was none of her business. She just met the guy yesterday and she didn't have a right to pry into his personal life, even if he is her best friend's brother in law.

"He's been through a lot." Caroline said, taking a sip of her coffee that I brought her. "We all became friends in high school. Soon enough, all three of us were inseparable and we met his brother, Damon."

Elena was trying her best to listen to Caroline but truthfully, hearing everything, hurt her. Mainly because she wasn't there for anything. She wasn't there for the parties, or the football games, or the cheering competitions, or even graduation. She wasn't able to graduate with any of her childhood friends and that hurt her. Caroline waving her hand in front of her eyes broke her out of her trance.

"Sorry, Care. Continue."

"Anyways, at first Bonnie wanted nothing to do with Damon. She really made him work for her, you know?" Caroline was telling Elena about Bonnie's story right in front of her, but apparently Bonnie didn't care because she wasn't interrupting her. "Eventually, she agreed to go out with him and they got married. As for Stefan," Bonnie elbowed Caroline in her side signaling her to stop talking because it wasn't really her story or place to tell. Besides, the door opened and they all looked over and seen Stefan and Arianna standing by the door.

"Aunt Bonnie!" Arianna ran away from her father standing by the door and right into Bonnie's open awaiting arms.

"I missed you, kiddo." Bonnie said giving her a kiss on her cheek.

"I missed you, too auntie." Bonnie released her from her embrace and Arianna made her way to Caroline, who knelt down so she was eye level with her and pulled her into a hug. After she made her way over to Elena. Elena didn't know what to do so she knelt down and gave her a little hug too. When she stood back up, the little girl looked up adoringly at Elena.

"I'm sorry she's here early." Stefan said coming over to join the group of girls. "I have to go into work a little earlier than usual." Of course he was going to make his usual stop in the morning, visiting Rebekah. He hasn't taken Arianna there yet, fearing that she wouldn't be able to handle standing over her mother's grave at such a young age. He did regret it but he figured he would take her when the time was right and she was older.

"It's no problem, Stefan. Really." Bonnie said, walking over to him. Arianna walked back over to her dad and he knelt down a little so that he was able to take off her jacket for her. When he stood back up after giving her a kiss on her forehead, he let his eyes wander over to Elena, remembering the for some reason unknown to him, he thought of this stranger before he went to sleep. He gave her a light smile, his way of acknowledging her without speaking.

Arianna tugged on his pant legs so he turned his attention back to his daughter. "Daddy, don't you want to talk to Elena?" Stefan could feel Bonnie and Caroline's eyes seep through him. Arianna's question caught him off guard because he didn't even have a reason to talk to Elena. "Don't you want to tell her what you told me yesterday?"

Elena looked at him and it took everything he had to not look back up at her. Instead, he kept his focus on the adorable little girl in front of him. "I can't right now, sweetie. I have to go to work."

"Are you visiting mommy first?" Arianna was well aware that Stefan had a routine at the beginning of his day.

"Yes angel. I am." He knelt down and gave her a kiss on her forehead again before standing back up. "I will be by a little after 5 today to get her."

"Okay." Bonnie and Caroline said in unison.

"Love you, Ari."

"Love you too, daddy." He waved and turned around to walk back out the door that he had came in.

**xxxxxx**

Elena really enjoyed volunteering but all day she couldn't help her thoughts from wandering to the conversation that was had this morning. Arianna asked Stefan if he was going to visit her mother and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that her mother was the one that he was visiting yesterday, too.

Much like the day before, Arianna had been attached to Elena's hip. Because of this, Caroline and Bonnie let Elena have Arianna in her little group of five. It had been a very productive day and the place was in total disaster. It actually looked like a tornado had swept through. At this point, the only child left was Arianna. Caroline told Elena that she would be fine by herself in the house area so they started to clean up.

Once the place was almost cleaned, the door opened and Elena looked over to see a guy that had black hair and piercing blue eyes. Bonnie walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, having a smile on her face the entire time. Bonnie grabbed his hand and led him to where Elena was cleaning up an area.

"'Lena, this is Damon, my husband." Elena noticed the huge smile on Bonnie's face when she mention the '_husband_' part. "Damon, this is Elena. My best friend for as long as I can remember." Damon stuck his hand out for Elena to shake, so she did.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Elena. Bonnie's told me so much about you." Elena wished she could tell him that Bonnie has told her a lot about him but she hadn't.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"Listen, 'Lena, Damon and I have dinner reservations. Do you mind if we step out?"

"No, the place is almost clean. I'm sure I can handle finishing." Caroline had left a little after they started cleaning due to some sort of emergency. She didn't say what.

"Are you sure?"

"Go, Bon. I can handle things here."

"Stefan should be here in about a half an hour to pick Ari up." At the mention of her name, Arianna came running out of the house area.

"Uncle Damon!" She squealed, as if she hasn't seen him in a year. She ran into his awaiting arms and he lifted her off the ground, setting her on his hip. He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you baby girl." He said, smirking.

"I missed you too! When can we go to Disney Land?" She asked him, giving him an adorable smile, showing off her teeth.

"I'll have to check my schedule." He said teasingly. He set her back down on the ground.

"Elena's my best friend." She said changing the subject. Damon placed a hand over his heart, mocking offense.

"I thought I was your best friend." She giggled slightly.

"You were. Then I met Elena!"

"Ouch. I'm hurt."

"But I still love you!"

"You better."

"You're going to stay here with Elena until your dad comes to get you. Okay, Ari?" Bonnie said giving the little girl a light smile.

"Okay!" Arianna said excitedly. "Goodbye Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Damon. Love you!"

"We love you, too." Bonnie said. "I'll see you both tomorrow." Elena waved and watched as they walked out the door. She turned around examining the room. She only had a little left that had to get picked up.

"Why don't you finish playing in the house area while I clean up?" Elena asked looking down at Arianna.

"I can help you clean. I help daddy clean my room all the time!" Elena never seen anyone excited about cleaning, never mind a four year old.

"Okay, why don't you pick up those papers over there?" Elena said pointing to the table in the far corner of the room. Arianna took off running to the table. Elena was picking up play dough when she came back over to her, handing her the papers. After a few minutes, the only thing left was the house area that Arianna was in.

"I can help you in here, too." Arianna said trailing behind Arianna.

"You don't have to."

"I want to!" She said, overly excited again. Elena couldn't help but smile. This little girl was absolutely adorable and she loved how attached she was to her. "My daddy said you are pretty." Arianna said. Elena put the toy doll away in its rightful place and couldn't help the blush that ran up her cheeks. After it went away, she turned to look at Arianna who was putting away fake food into the cabinet drawers of the fake refrigerator.

"Why did your daddy say that?" She asked, taking a seat on the floor after she picked up the remaining toys and put them away. Arianna took a seat on Elena's lap.

"I asked him." She said looking at Elena with those big green eyes. She smiled up at her.

"Hello?" They heard from around the corner. She didn't even hear the door open. Arianna got up off her lap and ran out of the house area and into her dad's awaiting arms.

"Hi, daddy."

"Hi sweetie." Elena got up from her seat off the floor and made her way to way Stefan and Arianna were standing.

"They left you here by yourself again?" Stefan asked her, noticing that Bonnie and Caroline were nowhere to be found. If she didn't know any better she'd swear that they were doing it on purpose.

"Yeah, Caroline had some sort of emergency and Bonnie had dinner reservations with Damon." Elena ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly nervous and she had no idea why. "I don't mind though."

"It's because she gots to spend time with me, daddy." Arianna said looking up at her father.

"Is that so." He set her down on the floor and she ran to get her jacket. She brought it back over to him and he helped her into it, zipping it up after. "Did you behave today?" She nodded her head yes.

"I helped Elena clean, too! Just like I help you clean my room." He scooped her back up into his arms.

"I'm glad. Say goodbye to Elena, sweetie."

"Can I give her a hug?" Elena's heart melted. No one was ever attached to her like this little girl was and she couldn't have been happier just by her asking that question.

"Of course." He set her down and she took off running to where Elena was standing. Elena bent down and gave her a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Arianna."

"Bye, Elena." Elena waved to them before they walked out the door. She checked everything, shut the lights off and grabbed her stuff out of the closet. She put her jacket on because she walked out into the crisp winter air and walked out the door and to the direction of her car.

**xxxxxx**

"Shit." Elena hit the steering wheel of her car. She turned the key in the ignition yet again, and it still wasn't starting. She looked across the parking lot, noticing that there was a car still there, not too far from hers, but not wanting to go over there because she was paranoid.

After internally debating with herself, she reluctantly got out of her car and walked over to the other one. "Excuse me." She said and the guy turned around.

"Everything alright, Elena?" She had gotten lost in those green eyes, completely forgetting why she even walked over there to begin with.

"My car won't start." She said after regaining her composure.

"I'll look at. You probably just need a jump." He hopped into his car after shutting the door to the back seat and drove so that he was near her car. She leaned against her car after popping the hood. Arianna was waving to her and smiling from the back seat so she did the same.

"She's adorable, you know." Stefan looked up from where he was looking in the trunk of his car for jumper cables.

"Thank you."

"She attached herself to my hip." After getting the cables out, he popped his hood and connected the cables.

"She likes you." He said looking at her, smiling slightly. "She doesn't attach herself to anyone like that easily. I guess you're special." She couldn't help but smile as she felt the butterflies in her stomach start acting up. "Try to turn your car on." She went around to the driver's side and turned the key. Sure enough, the car started. She hopped out quickly. He unhooked the cables and went to put them away. She closed her hood and leaned against the car.

"Thank you for your help."

"It's no problem." He said standing by his car. They were staring at each other for a few moments, not even realizing until Arianna broke them out of their trance.

"Daddy, I'm hungry!" She yelled through the window.

"We're leaving."

"Okay."

"Thanks again." She said turning away.

"No problem." They both got in their cars and drove away in opposite directions.

**A/N** : Getting somewhere. =] Feel free to follow me on **Twitter**. _love_xo0_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for your reviews! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena has been back in Mystic Falls for three weeks now. She only needed a few more hours of volunteer work before she could become a teacher. She had to admit though that she was becoming attached to the kids in the day care, especially to a green eyed little girl.

"Elena?" She heard from behind her. She turned around and seen Arianna standing behind her with her jacket on. Again, Caroline and Bonnie left her to close up, not that she really minded. She knelt down so that she was at eye level with the little girl.

"Yes?"

"Will you come to my dance show tomorrow?"

Elena's heart nearly melted. How could she possibly say no to her when Arianna was looking at her with a look of adoration and appreciation?

"Of course I'll go to your dance show." Arianna wrapped her arms around Elena's neck and squeezed her. The door opened and in walked Stefan.

"Daddy!" The little girl said leaving Elena's embrace and running into her father's open and waiting arms.

"Hey angel."

"Daddy, guess what?" She asked, excitedly.

"What?" He asked, giving her the same amount of enthusiasm.

"Elena is going to come to my dance show tomorrow!" Stefan snuck a quick glance at Elena, who was smiling from ear to ear, clearly excited about going to a four year olds dance show.

"She asked me and she's just too adorable to say no to." Elena said, looking at Arianna. She had a cheeky grin on her face.

"I'm adorable, daddy." She turned her head to look at her father, who in turn, looked at his daughter.

"I know you are. Why don't you give Elena a hug goodbye?"

"Okay." He set her down and she walked to Elena. She knelt down so she could give Arianna a hug goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She released Arianna and she went back to her father, grabbing his hand.

"Bye Elena." They both said in unison and walked out the door.

**xxxxxx**

"I'm hurt that Ari didn't ask me to go to her show. I haven't been to one in a while." Caroline said over the phone the next day. "I mean, I'm not surprised that she asked you to go. She's attached to your hip."

Elena let out a light laugh. "Yeah, she is attached to my hip. She doesn't leave my side. Ever." Elena didn't mind though. She became attached to her as well.

"Are you going to sit next to Stefan?"

"I don't think so, Care." Elena heard a sigh coming from the other end of the phone. "Am I supposed to?"

There was a long pause before Caroline spoke again. "No, you don't have to. I mean, it would be nice of you too considering you have this bond with his daughter. Maybe you guys could get to know each other during the intermission." If Elena didn't know any better, she'd swear that she heard hope in Caroline's voice.

"Why would I have to get to know him?" She hear another sigh coming from Caroline.

"You don't have to, Elena. I just figured it would be nice. He told me that Arianna is always talking about you." Elena couldn't help the smile that went across her face.

"Are you going to Bonnie's Christmas party?" Elena asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, Tyler and I are going." At the mention of her other best friend's successful relationship, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy rush through her. All she wanted right now was to get her life on track with a career and someone to love.

"Do we have to bring anything with us?" Elena asked realizing that Christmas was nearly two weeks away.

"Not unless you want to bring presents for your oldest best friends in the entire world." Caroline said.

"I guess I could do that." Elena said, getting up off the bed in her old room and looking out the window, realizing that it started to snow. Her car wasn't the greatest in the snow but she had to make do. It's not like she had another car at her disposal. "I'll call you later, Care. I have to get ready if I want to make it to Arianna's dance recital on time."

"Okay. Have fun, 'Lena." Caroline hung up before Elena even had the chance to say something else.

**xxxxxx**

Elena made it to the recital with minutes to spare. She wanted to stop and pick up something for Arianna. She decided that a little stuffed bear was the safest way to go. When she entered the insanely warm building, she noticed that Stefan was waiting by the door. She also noticed, that his eyes instantly lit up with just the sight of her.

"Hey." He said after she made it to where he was standing.

"Where's Arianna?" She asked making her way into the auditorium. She made her to the front, wanting to be as close as possible.

"I had to bring her here early. They always have a last minute practice before a show." Elena took a seat and he took the seat next to her. She took off her jacket and placed it on her lap, sitting the stuffed animal on top.

"I bought this for her." She held up the bear and showed it to him quickly before placing it back down on her lap.

"She'll love it. Thank you." Against her better judgment, Elena asked him the question that had been on her mind since she first walked into the building.

"Were you waiting for me by the door?" She asked, turning to look at him. He averted her gaze and slowly nodded his head yes.

"Ari asked me too." He said, still not looking anywhere but at her. Just as Elena opened up her mouth to say something back, the curtain opened signaling the start of the show.

**xxxxxx**

Arianna had everything down to a T. She was phenomenal dancer, even at the age of four. She noticed that Arianna had a smile on her face the entire time, clearly enjoying what she was doing. There were some twists and twirls in the middle of the dance and she didn't stumble at all.

Even though no one but parents were allowed in the back, he led Elena up the stage and through the back of the curtain knowing that Arianna was going to want to see her. When she did, her entire face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Elena! You really came to see me!" She said jumping into her awaiting arms. Elena lifted her up so that they were eye level with each other.

"Of course I did. I told you I would didn't I?" Arianna nodded her head yes. "I have something for you." Elena set her down and lifted up her jacket to reveal the light brown stuffed bear that she bought for her. Again, her face lit up as she handed her the bear.

"I love it! I'm going to sleep with it in my bed every single night! Look daddy!" She acknowledged Stefan for the first time since they went backstage to greet her.

"What are you going to name him, princess?" Elena smiled again hearing the nickname for his daughter.

"Um…." She stood there tapping her little finger against her chin, deep in thought. "I think I want to name him Mr. Snuggles." Stefan smiled at the name that Arianna picked out for her teddy bear. She looked absolutely adorable in her pink jump suit. Her dance instructor wanted her to wear a dress but Stefan stood his ground, telling them no because it would be too cold for her. He was right considering it was winter. It was way too cold for her to be in a dress.

"Why don't we take Mr. Snuggles home and get you changed in something else so that I can take you out to lunch?"

"Can we go to The Grill?" She absolutely loved eating at The Grill and he could never say no to her when she asked. Some would say that he spoiled her, and they were probably right. But she was his little girl and he wanted to give her whatever she wanted.

"Yes we can."

"Can Elena come with us?" She looked up at Elena with expectant eyes.

"I don't know if I can, Arianna." Arianna gave her the puppy dog look, with her bottom lip sticking out. That's the look that always made Stefan cave. Always.

"Please, please, please, please?" She dragged out the syllables on the last please, making the word longer than necessary. Elena couldn't resist now. She was just too damn adorable.

"Okay." Elena said caving. Arianna excitedly attached herself to Elena's leg, hugging it tightly.

**xxxxxx**

After they place their orders, Arianna jumped right into conversation with Elena.

"Thank you for my bear, Elena." Elena had to admit that Arianna has the best manners. She was always saying please and thank you.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Elena said smiling at the little girl sitting across from her.

"Are you going to Auntie Bonnie and Uncle Damon's house?" Elena was confused at first but realized that she must be talking about the party that Bonnie had told her about. Apparently they have one every year and that was yet another thing that Elena was left out on and all because she was a troubled teenager who got shipped away and didn't want to come back.

"Yes I am." Elena replied as the waiter set their plates down in front of them. After asking if they needed anything else and them replying with a 'no', he walked away.

"You can come with me and daddy!" She said a little too excitedly. Elena looked over at Stefan, who was looking at his daughter.

"I think my brother and his girlfriend are going to come with me but I will see you guy's there." Arianna ducked her head a little to hide her disappointment. "Hey, I'll still be there." She lifted her head again and the disappointed look was replaced with one of pure happiness. They drifted into a comfortable silence, eating their food. Arianna was the one to break the ice yet again.

"Elena, you're my best friend." Elena looked at Arianna and couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"Well I have a secret for you but you can't tell your Aunt Bonnie or Aunt Caroline. Pinky promise?" Elena put her elbow on the table and stuck her pinky out, waiting for her to grab it with hers to make a pinky promise. In Elena's eyes, it is completely unacceptable to break a pinky promise.

"I promise." Arianna said, unhooking her pinky from Elena's. Elena laid her hands back on the table.

"You're my best friend, too." Elena leaned over the table a little so that Arianna was able to hear her whisper. Stefan felt a huge smile appear on his face. It was the best moment that he's seen since Arianna was born.

Yes, Bonnie and Caroline were close to Arianna and they had a bond with her. But Elena and Arianna had become really close and Arianna looked up to Elena. He let himself wonder if she would have been this close to Elena if Rebekah was still there with them.

**xxxxxx**

"Thank you for letting me tag along with you guys." Elena said standing near her car door. Stefan smiled, readjusting a sleepy Arianna. It was definitely her nap time.

"It's no problem. She wanted you here." He said turning his eyes to look at Arianna who was slowly drifting off, leaning her head against his shoulder. Elena took her hand and rubbed her back, making her fall asleep completely. "I wanted you here, too." Elena turned her eyes back to Stefan. There goes those damn butterflies again. He had this affect on her that she couldn't shake and she really didn't want to, either. She couldn't help the slow blush that was creeping its way to her face.

"I had fun." She said smiling up at him, not even caring if he saw the affect he had on her with just saying those five words.

"We did, too. But I should get going. As you can clearly see, it's her nap time."

"I'll get the door for you." She said walking over to his car that was parked two spaces away from hers. He unlocked it with the remote and held it open while he carefully put her in her seat and buckling her in, making sure not to wake her up.

"Thank you." He said, standing up out of the car. She gently closed the door, trying not to wake her up.

"No problem. Tell Arianna that she did great at her recital for me." She said backing away from his car.

"Okay. Bye Elena."

"Bye Stefan." She said and she took the last few steps to her car.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Also, I'm glad you guys like Arianna. =] And I don't mean to offend anyone by writing about Christmas. I know not everyone celebrates it due to religious reasons. Sorry about that.

**xxxxxx**

Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie all decided to take a day trip to the Mall in the town over from Mystic Falls. It was the weekend before Bonnie's Christmas Party and the Day Care is only open Monday through Fridays. They stopped into a jewelry store so that Bonnie could get a watch for Damon for Christmas. They were looking through the different watches before Elena finally decided to speak up.

"I got all the hours that I need." Finally, spotting the watch that Bonnie wanted to buy him, she told the store clerk and he took his keys to unlock the glass door behind the counter to reach in and take it. Then she turned her face in Elena's direction.

"So you're leaving the Day Care?" Caroline asked from behind Bonnie.

"I have to find a job first."

"We're happy for you, Elena. Really." Bonnie finally spoke up as she paid for the watch for Damon. The store clerk put it in a box and then put the box in a bag and handed it to Bonnie. "But if you can't find a job seeing how it's already December, you can stay at the Day Care and you won't have to volunteer anymore." They walked out of the store and in the direction of the food court to grab something to eat.

"I appreciate that Bonnie. I can help you two out there until I find one."

"Okay." They went up to some burger place, ordered, and sat down when they got their food.

"Plus, I think Ari will miss you too much." Elena let a small smile tug across her lips. If it were possible, Arianna had grown more attached to Elena.

"I'll still see her if she goes over to your house, Bon."

"She'll miss spending time with you when we leave." Caroline said. They have been leaving her by herself to lock up ever since the day that she met Stefan. She didn't mind because she would read to Arianna or paint, or draw. Plus she really didn't mind seeing Stefan. She thought that he was a nice guy and she couldn't help the feeling that she got whenever she was around him, even if it was for a short period of time.

"Stefan likes that you and her are close, too." Caroline blurted out all too quickly. "He said you are a great girl, 'Lena." Elena couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips at the mention of this. This didn't go unnoticed by Bonnie and Caroline but they didn't comment on it.

"He's nice." Was all she replied with. What she really wanted to say was the way he makes her feel, just by standing in the same together. She knows that she shouldn't feel like that because she hasn't even known him that long and she doesn't even really know anything about him. But secretly, she wanted that to change.

**xxxxxx**

Elena left the mall with gifts for Jeremy, Anna, Jenna, Bonnie, and Caroline. She wasn't sure if she should get Damon or Tyler anything so she decided against it. She got both Caroline and Bonnie a friendship charm for their bracelets and Anna a rose charm for hers, she got Jenna a silver watch, Jeremy a charcoal set so that he could draw. She was satisfied with the gifts that she bought everyone and hoped that they all liked them.

Sitting at home, covered up with a blanket and drinking hot chocolate, she felt completely relaxed. She couldn't keep her thoughts from wandering to Stefan and Arianna. Even though it is none of her business and she's not one to pry into people's personal lives, she wanted to know what happened to Arianna's mother. She thought back to the picture that Arianna painted her that's in her room. There was a person missing and Elena was certain that it was her mother, especially because the first time she saw Stefan, he was in the cemetery and Arianna had asked him if he was going to visit mommy. She couldn't help but wonder what happened.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan dedicates his weekend to spending time with Arianna. Because he works all week, he only gets little time in the morning to spend with her. By the time they eat dinner and she has her bath, she has an hour before she goes to bed. During the weekends in summertime, he'd take her to the zoo, the park, the aquarium, out for ice cream, anything he could. Sometimes she would ask him about Rebekah and what she was like. When she asked if her mommy was in Heaven, he would always tell her that she's an angel and that she was watching over the two of them. Because that's what he liked to believe.

On this Sunday night, he made them spaghetti for dinner. After they ate, she had a bath and now they are sitting on the couch in the living room, drinking hot chocolate and watching movies. They were all cartoons but he didn't care. As long as Arianna is happy, he's happy.

"Can we watch Cinderella now?" She's seen it a million times but she loves it. How could he possibly say no to her?

"Yes." He got up from the couch and changed the DVD. He hit play when he sat back down on the couch. About half way through the movie, he heard her snoring so he carefully picked her up and laid her head against his shoulder after she stirred. He went upstairs and down the hall to her bedroom and placed her in bed. He covered her up, kissed her forehead and turned on her night light. He turned around and left the room, and left the door slightly open. He went to his room, grabbed clothes and took a quick shower.

After his shower, he made his way to his room and grabbed a book off the shelf in his room. He shut the light off and went to his bed, turning the lamp on the bedside on in the process. After he climbed in bed, he opened the book and a piece of paper came out. He instantly recognized Rebekah's handwriting and wondered when she even wrote this letter. He began reading.

_Stefan,_

_I know I shouldn't be thinking about this, but I need you to read this letter all the way through. If for whatever reason I'm not here with you and our daughter, I need you to move on. I need you to live your life as best as you can. I know that you are going to take care of our daughter and she's going to grow up to be an amazing woman. But I want her to have a motherly figure in her life if I can't be here for her._

_It's okay to think about me and I want you to know that it's okay for you to move on. I need you to if I'm not here with you. Just promise me that you will and that you will give our daughter the best life possible. I love you, Stefan._

_Rebekah_

Stefan didn't even know that he was crying until the ink started to run down the paper. He didn't know when Rebekah wrote it but it was obviously sometime after they found out the sex of the baby. Completely forgetting about the book that he was going to read, he cried until he fell asleep.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan woke up to someone jumping on his bed. When he rolled over, he peeked one eye open and seen that it was Arianna, who was laughing uncontrollably in the process of jumping. He sat up quickly, grabbed her and started tickling her.

"Daddy!" She squealed as he was tickling her. "I'm going to pee in my pants!" He abruptly stopped and set her on the floor and she ran in the direction of the bathroom.

"Do you want French toast?" He asked her, carrying her down the stairs after she came out of the bathroom.

"I love French toast." They made it to the bottom of the stairs and they went into the kitchen. Stefan set her down in the chair and immediately began working on making her breakfast.

When it was done, he set the plate in front of her and poured her some juice and she began eating. He made himself a coffee and began eating, too.

"Do I get to see Elena today?" She asked setting her cup down on the table.

"If she's there then yes."

"But if she's not then no?" She asked her big green eyes getting wide at the thought of Elena not being at the Day Care that day.

"Sorry sweetie. If she isn't then no." Arianna's lip started quivering and her big green eyes got a little watery.

"But I like Elena. I want to paint her another picture."

"I don't think you have to worry about her not being there, princess." She seemed to calm down.

"Do you love Elena?" Stefan nearly choked on the piece of French toast that he just started chewing.

"What makes you think that?"

"I heard Auntie Caroline and Auntie Bonnie talking."

"About?" Stefan was interested in hearing what she had to say now.

"They said your eyes."

"What about my eyes?"

"I don't know daddy. Something about a sparkle." Stefan couldn't believe that he was having this conversation with his four year old daughter.

"Finish your breakfast so you can get ready." He said, desperate to change the conversation. Lucky for him, she listened to what he said and she finished her breakfast.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan brought Arianna to the Day Care, needing to talk to Caroline and Bonnie, or at least one of them. Luckily, Bonnie was there. After he took Arianna's jacket off, she hung it up and went to go play in one of the areas.

"I need to talk to you really quick, Bonnie." Stefan said.

"About?"

"Something Arianna heard you and Caroline talking about." Recognition flashed across Bonnie's features before he even told her what she overheard.

"That girl has good hearing." Bonnie said, laughing.

"I know, Bonnie. Don't change the subject." He said seriously. "She asked me if I loved her this morning. She said something about a sparkle?"

"Sorry, Stefan. It's true. Whenever Arianna talks about her you get this sparkle in your eyes."

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do." Stefan gave up this argument a little too quickly and changed the subject to the night before. To the letter that he found in one of his books. "I found this." He handed her the folded up paper and let her read it. She read it quickly and handed him back the paper.

"You should listen to her. It's been four years, Stefan."

"It's not so easy, Bonnie. What would you do if you were in my situation?"

"I know that Damon would want me to be happy so I would do just that. I would be happy."

"I am happy, Bonnie." He countered.

"I know you are, Stefan. But you need to get out. You take care of Arianna and you work all week. You need a night to go out and enjoy yourself."

"I don't have time for that, Bonnie."

"Yes you do, Stefan. Damon and I will be more than glad to take Ari for a night so you can do something."

"I don't get much time with her." The truth is, he knew that he needed a night out. But he would feel extremely guilty for leaving Arianna with anyone.

"Stefan. You need this. And I happen to know a girl who needs a night out, too." She said with a mischievous grin.

**A/N** : Not the best I know but they're feelings are showing which is a sign. =]


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

It was the night of Bonnie's Christmas party. It was snowing badly outside so Elena left her house a little earlier than necessary to make it to the boarding house in time. It was located on the outskirts of town surrounded by woods. The heat in her car was on full blast but she was still a little chilly so she decided to stop at a local coffee shop to get a cup of hot chocolate.

Once inside, she instantly felt warm. She heard the bell above the door ring signaling a new customer when she made her way up to the counter. After she ordered and paid, she turned around and was met with those green eyes that she could easily get lost in if she had the chance to.

"Elena?" She felt Arianna tugging on her jacket so she bent down to her level so that they were eye and eye. "I have something for you, Elena!" The little girl said excitedly.

"Really?" She asked surprised. Elena had something for her, too, but didn't want to tell her until they exchanged gifts at Bonnie's house.

"Uh-huh. We seen you through the door and I wanted to go get it for you but daddy told me that I couldn't give you it until we got to Auntie Bonnie's." She said, looking up at her dad for a quick second. Elena stood up to move out of the way so that Stefan could go up to the counter to order. She sat in a nearby seat and Arianna followed her.

"You should listen to your dad." Elena said picking the little girl up and placing her on her lap.

"I know." Arianna said. Stefan turned towards them and started walking towards them holding two cups.

"Come on, Ari. We have to get going." Stefan said. Arianna hopped off of Elena's lap.

"Can I have my hot cocoa?" She asked looking up at him.

"Not yet. It's too hot. By the time we get to your aunt and uncle's house it will be cool enough."

"Okay. Bye Elena!"

"I'll see you later, okay?" She told Arianna. She stood up grabbing her cup in the process. All three of them walked to the door. Stefan held it open for them and closed it after they were all out.

"Well I'll see you guys soon." Elena said waving at them and walking towards her car. Things between her and Stefan were weird. When they seen each other, which happened a lot due to Bonnie and Caroline always leaving the Day Care early for her to close, they would just stare awkwardly at anything around them. On occasion they'd look each other in the eyes but the moment, if it could even be considered a moment, was gone usually do to Arianna. When they talked, it was usually about what Arianna did that day.

Bonnie and Caroline left Elena to close up every day. She thought that they were trying to set her up and her suspicions were true when Bonnie came up to her one day and told her that she thought that her and Stefan both needed a night out and what better way than to be out together? But Elena kindly turned her down. As much as she wanted to be in a relationship, she didn't want to seem desperate and truthfully, she didn't even know Stefan which was a problem for her. Plus she didn't want anyone setting her up. That happened once in Los Angeles and it turned into a complete the disaster. The guy was a total tool.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan was slowly making his way to Bonnie's house. The snow was pretty bad and the roads were starting to get a little icy. Luckily, they would be at the house in another five minutes. Arianna was relatively quiet but on the rare occasion that she talked, she talked about Elena.

Stefan knew that she was attached to Elena. It made his heart melt, if that were even possible. She was actually excited to go to the Day Care and every day she would rush through her breakfast just to get their sooner. And every day he had to tell her to slow down.

When they finally reached the boarding house, his old home growing up, he got out of the car, unbuckled Arianna, grabbed the bags and the cups and they took off reaching the front door. He rang the door bell and Bonnie answered immediately. She ushered them inside to get them out of the cold and the snow.

Stefan put the bags and the cups down and took off Arianna's jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves and before he even had the chance to give her the hot chocolate that she wanted so badly, she ran in the other room. _Probably in search of Elena_. He thought to himself.

"You can put the jackets and bags in the closet for now." She said pointing to the closet in the foyer.

"Alright." He took off his jacket and put them in the closet and followed behind Bonnie with his cup of cocoa and Arianna's. She'll get it when she's ready for it.

"Bonnie, this place looks amazing." Stefan was looking around the living room at all the Christmas decorations. The Christmas tree stood at least six feet tall and it was full. There were colorful lights wrapping around it and there were decorations covering it in random places. A lot of them were ornaments that Arianna had made. She's very artsy-crafty. The room smelt like apple pie. Bonnie loves candles and would get ones that matched the holidays or her moods.

"Thanks. Of course I did everything by myself while your brother did absolutely nothing but sit and drink."

"Typical Damon."

"Bonnie, Jeremy just texted me to tell me that he's going to be a little late. They just left Anna's parents house and the roads are getting bad." Elena said coming into the living room with Arianna who snuck a cookie.

"Okay, tell him to take his time. What about Jenna?"

"She should be here soon. She had something to finish up. Where are Caroline and Tyler?"

"They'll be here in five minutes." Arianna finally noticed her dad and went towards him, reaching her arms up signaling for him to pick her up. Knowing that he couldn't say no to her, he didn't even try and he picked her up anyways, handing her the cup of cocoa that was now most likely cool enough for her to drink.

"Thank you daddy." She said after she took a sip.

"You're welcome." He kissed her head and she took another sip. The doorbell sounded and Damon came bounding down the stairs and headed straight for the door. Caroline came in the living room with rosy cheeks and a pink nose. She had snowflakes covering her black jacket and Tyler was behind her carrying boxes with Christmas wrapping and bows. Bonnie walked over to them and grabbed the boxes from Tyler and put them in the closet that she pointed to Stefan earlier.

Elena hasn't seen Tyler since before she left. They were never really close but they had a few classes together and they would talk once in a while. But Elena always noticed the looks that he would give Caroline and knew that one day they would end up being together.

"Hey, Elena." Tyler said from behind Caroline taking his jacket off. She waved her hand in acknowledgement. Caroline took her jacket off and Tyler went to put them in the closet. Damon put on some Christmas CD and walked to the fireplace adding more wood. Stefan put Arianna down and went to help him.

Caroline, Bonnie and Elena all walked into the kitchen with Arianna in tow. After they sat down at the kitchen table, Arianna hopped up on to Elena's lap. Bonnie and Caroline smiled at them.

"Auntie Bonnie did you get something for me?" Arianna was always abrupt and said whatever was on her mind.

"You know I did." Bonnie replied smiling at her.

"Can I have it?" She asked with a big smile on her face.

"Not yet." Arianna leaned back into Elena and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. After a moment, she leaned forward again looking up at Bonnie with her big green eyes and pouted her lower lip. "I can say no to you, you know." Bonnie said. The look that Arianna was giving her was not wavering so after a few moments of an intense staring contest, Bonnie cracked and got up, walking up stairs. Elena stifled a laugh because the whole thing was funny to her. Arianna truly is adorable and no one really could say no to her.

**xxxxxx**

Hours later, after every one ate, sang Christmas carols, read Christmas stories and gifts were exchanged, they were snowed in. There was at least five feet of snow on the ground and it wasn't stopping. Luckily, Bonnie offered everyone to stay overnight. There were plenty of rooms in the boarding house.

Elena was staring at the new picture that Arianna had drawn for her. This time, it was a picture of a horse and there was a girl on it. Elena remembered Arianna telling her once that she loved horses so Elena assumed that the girl was Arianna, but grown up. She planned on hanging it on her cork board in her room when she got home.

Everyone loved their gifts, and Elena loved the ones that she got. Bonnie and Caroline got both her and Jenna a gift certificate for the local spa, saying that they both needed a day to just relax. Jeremy got her bracelet, Anna got her a charm and Jenna got her a necklace.

Bonnie got Arianna a doll set, Caroline got her a couple of big plastic horses and Elena got her a dream house. The gifts were passed by in a blur so what else was given out Elena didn't really remember everything. The only thing she cared about was the fact that everyone had a good time and was genuinely happy with everyone's company.

It was at least midnight when Elena heard someone coming into the kitchen. She turned a little and seen Stefan going to get a mug and turning on the water. He grabbed a packet of hot chocolate and poured it into his cup and took a seat next to Elena waiting for the water to get hot.

"She loves that doll house, you know. You didn't have to get her something like that. Or anything at all." He said putting his hands on the table, placing one on top of the other.

"I know. I wanted to, though. She's a great kid."

"Yeah, she is." There was an awkward silence for a minute so Stefan took this time to get up to make his hot chocolate and sat back down after he was done.

"So listen," They both said at the same time. Elena laughed lightly.

"You first." He said to Elena, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"I know that Bonnie must have said something to you about the conversation she had with me." She said, holding her own coffee cup of hot chocolate and looking down at the table. She felt slightly embarrassed to be even bringing this up.

"She did. But hey, it's no big deal." She lifted her head up slightly to look at him.

"It's just that I don't even know you." They both said at the same time again.

"And," he continued to say "I'm not really ready for that. I know that she's looking out for me and I know that she's right when she says that I need to go out more but I don't want to get into anything right now."

"You will when you find the right person and when you're ready." He hung his head low.

"I had the right person." He said and Elena barely heard him because he said it so low. She reached her hand up and put her hand on top of his. It was a nice gesture. Nice enough for him to lift his head a little so that now they were looking each other in the eyes.

"You don't have to tell me anything. Just know that even though we don't know each other, I'm here if you ever need to talk."

"Does Arianna ever talk about her mother when she's with you?" Elena leaned back in her chair, not expecting to hear that. She expected him to just get up and walk back upstairs to go to bed. But he didn't. He stayed in the kitchen, with her.

"No, she never talks about her. Neither does Caroline or Bonnie and I don't want to ask because it's not my business. And like I said a few minutes ago, you don't have to tell me anything."

"But I feel that if you're going to be in Arianna's life you might as well know what happened." Elena nodded her head, encouraging him to go on. And so he did. He told her how he and Rebekah were high school sweet hearts. They were together since the middle of freshman year and by graduation, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. So after graduation, he proposed. They were married the summer after their freshman year in college and when they were 20, they were expecting Arianna.

Rebekah's parents were happy for them but thought that they were too young. Stefan's parents were thrilled for them but that was short lived because they passed away. He told her how his wedding day was the happiest day of his life. But that changed when Rebekah went into labor and Arianna came out, she died.

Elena couldn't help but cry at the end. She didn't know him but the story was truly sad. Arianna has to grow up without her mom and Rebekah really was Stefan's first love. She felt sorry for him. But he didn't want her pity. He didn't want anyone's pity.

"Stefan, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. That's truly awful." He wiped away the remaining tears off his face that managed to fall throughout his story. "I couldn't imagine going through that. You're stronger than you think you are you know. You have a beautiful little girl that looks up to you so much and a family that will do anything to help you. And like I said earlier, I'm here for you, too." He gave her a reassuring smile and got up from his seat.

"I didn't realize how late it was." He said looking at the digital clock on the stove. It was nearly 12:45 at this point. "Sorry to keep you up." She stood up and washed her cup out quickly. He washed his out and she turned to look at him.

"You didn't keep me up. I couldn't sleep anyways."

"Well thank you for listening."

"No problem. Goodnight, Stefan." She said over her shoulder. She grabbed the picture and headed towards the direction of the stairs. Stefan watched her go before he decided to go back upstairs. He had no idea why he would tell Elena, someone who he doesn't even know, everything about Rebekah. He didn't even know her but he felt a little better about getting everything off his chest. Not that Rebekah was ever a burden but he knew that Elena was important to Arianna. So he felt like he had to tell her even though she told him that she didn't have to. But in a way, he's glad that he did. Because sometime in the future, he would like to be with Elena.

**A/N** : This was probably the longest chapter I ever wrote.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

This chapter has a time jump. It's the beginning of February now. I want to move it along.

**xxxxxx**

The last couple of months flew by in a blur. Elena was working at the Day Care but still trying to find a job in the process. She had a degree and she wanted to put it to use and she was determined to do just that. If she did find the job that she's always wanted, she would miss working at the Day Care but she had to do what was best for her.

The only time that she seen Stefan was when he was dropping off and picking up Arianna at the Day Care. Ever since the night of Bonnie's Christmas party and he told her about Rebekah, she had somewhat of a soft spot for him. She respected Stefan and absolutely adored Arianna.

Elena felt like she was in High School again, though. On the days that she would see Stefan, after he would walk out the door of the Day Care, she couldn't help but smile. She would get butterflies in her stomach every time that she would see him and on the rare occasion that their arms or shoulders would brush up against the others, she would get a tingly feeling. She could deny to everyone else that she didn't have a thing for him but she couldn't deny it to herself.

Caroline and Bonnie knew that something was up with her, though. Just by the way that she acted, they could tell even if she lied to them about it. She had a smile on her face whenever one of them mentioned his name or when he left the Day Care. Of course when they mentioned this to her, she would deny it to the fullest.

On her way to the Day Care, she decided to stop for a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop. She needed it on this particular morning, getting little sleep the night before due to Jeremy's excessive yelling at some game he was watching on TV.

After she ordered and paid, she made her back out into the brisk February air. On the way to the Day Care, she couldn't help her thoughts as they drifted to Stefan.

**xxxxxx**

The kids were all hyper today. There was laughter coming from all the stations and non stop talking. Not that this was a bad thing. They were all having fun, including Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline. By the end of the day, the entire Day Care was in disarray. Elena felt a tug on her shirt so she looked down and seen Arianna staring back up at her.

"Can I still play while I wait for my daddy?" Elena gave her a gentle smile.

"Of course you can." Elena replied, turning to clean up the mess in the painting area. She felt another tug on her shirt so she turned back around to look at Arianna.

"Can you come with me?" Caroline overheard the conversation and made her way over to where Elena and Arianna were standing.

"I got this, 'Lena." She said knowing how attached Arianna is to Elena. She gently gave Elena a push on the back, ushering her away from the area. Arianna led the way into the House area and instantly began to take out even more toys. She grabbed a plastic necklace and placed it over her head and on her neck. She found a plastic tiara and placed it on her head.

"I'm a princess." She said twirling around in the spot that she was standing in. Afraid she was going to get dizzy, Elena asked her nicely to stop the twirling. She stopped and sat down on the chair that was in the area, grabbed a doll and a little brush and started brushing the dolls hair.

Elena smiled at her. She could be having the worst day before she gets to the Day Care and then just being in the Day Care center with all the kids, instantly warmed her heart and put her in a better mood.

"Do you like my daddy like my Auntie Bonnie likes my Uncle Damon?" Elena didn't know how to answer this. She didn't want to lie to her but she didn't really want to tell her the truth, either. Arianna always said whatever was on her mind. She never held back. Luckily, this time around, Elena could avoid this question. She heard Stefan's voice coming from around the corner and it seemed to sidetrack Arianna.

"She's in the House area with Elena." She heard Bonnie say. It was kind of weird to have Bonnie and Caroline here helping her clean and close up. Not that she minded them being there considering they co-owned the Day Care. She just got used to reading to Arianna while they waited for Stefan. It was almost a routine, minus today. Plus just seeing Stefan wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

He rounded the corner into the play area and seen Arianna's attire. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.

"See daddy? I'm a real princess." She said going over and hugging his leg. After she pulled away from his leg, he picked her up and kissed her forehead.

"How about you stay in here for a little longer? There's something I want to ask Elena." He looked at Elena sitting on the floor and smiled at her.

"Okay." He set her down and she went back over to the doll that she put on the ground to run to her father. Again, he looked over at Elena and she started to stand up, leading her out of the area.

"Can you keep an eye on Ari? We'll be back in a minute." Stefan said over his shoulder, to a smirking Caroline who immediately started whispering something to Bonnie. "You should get your jacket. It's cold outside." He said, stopping by the closet where Elena keeps her jacket and purse. She nodded and opened the door and grabbed her jacket. Stefan led the way outside, and crossed the street to the bench. After they were both seated, he turned to look at her, placing his hand on the back of the bench.

He took in her rosy cheeks and the red on the tip of her nose due to the chilliness. He didn't want to have to talk to her outside but he knew that both Caroline and Bonnie would be listening if he talked to her inside.

"So I've been thinking." He started saying. "Maybe we can go out sometime?" He said it quickly. Elena didn't even think she heard him right at first but the words started to register in her head. He was coming to her on his own, without the push of their friend's.

"You want to go out on a date with me?" She asked. She couldn't help the surprised tone that was in her voice.

"Yeah, I do. I know we don't know a lot about each other but I would like to change that."

"So you want to go out with me?" She asked, clarifying. She hasn't been on a date in forever. She knew that she needed a night out. She must have been making this hard for him but she couldn't clarify why anyone would want to go on a date with her.

"Yes, Elena." He said, a slight smirk forming on his face. How could she possibly say no to him? He was just so handsome. And charming. And he made her feel …. Something. She hasn't really felt much of anything since she stepped foot back into Mystic Falls.

"I'd love that, Stefan." She said, a huge smile forming on her face.

"So how about dinner on Friday? Maybe a movie?" He asked, smile forming on his face because she agreed and because he was determined to finally let himself move on.

"It's a date." She smiled again.

"I'll pick you up around 7."

"Perfect." She told him where she lived and stood up from the bench. He stood up as well and they made their way across the street to go back into the warmth of the Day Care. Elena couldn't help the smile that was plastered on her face. Yes, she really didn't know that much about him but that was going to change. She looked around the Day Care, noticing that everything was cleaned up and Arianna had her jacket on and was ready to go. Caroline locked everything up and shut the lights off.

"I'm going to head out." Elena said looking over at everyone. She waved at everyone before heading out back into the coldness.

**xxxxxx**

It was Friday. Elena had about two hours before her date with Stefan. Caroline and Bonnie ushered her out the door around four thirty after telling her that she needed to get ready for her date. She told them both about her date with Stefan the day after he asked her. They of course, had big smiles on their faces saying that they knew that they would go out on a date eventually.

Now she was standing in front of her closet, hands on her hips, examining what she had in her closet that was first date appropriate. Because it was chilly outside, she decided on a pair of dark blue jeans and a dark gray cashmere sweater. She pulled the clothes out of her closet and made her way to the bathroom so that she can take a shower.

**xxxxxx**

It was an understatement to say that Stefan was excited about his date with Elena tonight. He got out of work a little earlier than normal and picked up Arianna from the day care, promising that she would be seeing her Auntie Bonnie for a few hours later that night. Bonnie told him that she would be willing to have Arianna over the house for a while. Damon has wanted to see Arianna so he was thrilled to find out that his younger brother was finally going on a date and that he and Bonnie would have Arianna for a while. He even told Stefan that they could keep her over night if she was sleeping by the time he got back, which she probably would be.

By this point, it was nearly five thirty. Arianna had finished her dinner and he gave her a bath putting her in her favorite Hello Kitty pajamas afterwards, just in case she did end up falling asleep.

"Why am I going to Auntie and Uncle's house?" She asked him as he was putting her in her car seat. He had to drop her off so that he could shower and get ready. Bonnie told him that she didn't mind just taking her home with her but Stefan wanted to spend some time with her before. After all, she was his daughter.

"I'm going to hang out with Elena for a little bit." He told her, not wanting to lie to her. He started his car and started to drive towards the boarding house.

"Do you like Elena like Auntie Bonnie likes Uncle Damon?" She asked him the same question that she asked Elena a few days before. But he had no escape and truthfully, he didn't know what to say.

"I don't know sweetie."

"I wish you would." He took a quick glance in the rearview mirror to look back at his daughter. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of the boarding house. He got her out of her car and they walked to the front door of the boarding house. Bonnie opened the door before he even had a chance to ring the bell. Stefan had enough time to tell Arianna that he loved her before Bonnie rushed him out the door to get ready for his date.

**xxxxxx**

Elena was staring at herself in the mirror. She blow dried and straightened her hair and she had on very light make up. But all in all, she thought she looked nice. She just hoped that he did, too. Looking at the time on her phone, she realized that it was 6:45 and she only had fifteen minutes before Stefan was supposed to pick her up. After grabbing her jacket, she left her room, closing her door in the process and made her way downstairs to wait for her date to arrive.

**A/N **: Date. =] So. How about that premier?


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

When Elena opened the front door, she couldn't help but give Stefan the once over, from head to toe, then back up again. He was wearing a simple plaid button down shirt, dark blue jeans, black boots and his leather jacket.

"These are for you." Stefan said to Elena, breaking her out of the trance that she was in. She noticed the bouquet of red roses when he extended his arm to hand them to her.

Smiling, she took them out of his hand and smelled them. "Thank you." She opened the door wider. "You can come in while I find a vase to put these in." He stepped inside and closed the door behind him and patiently waited for her to find a vase.

In the meantime, he couldn't help but give her the once over either. He thought that she looked beautiful even though she was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a sweater. He smiled to himself as he thought that even if she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt she would still be beautiful.

"Ready?" She asked walking over to him and putting her jacket on, breaking him out of his trance.

"Yeah, let's go." She led him out of the house and after she locked the door, he led her to his car, opening up the passenger door for her to get in. Once she was settled, he closed the door and went around to his side, turning the car on after he had his seat belt on.

"Where are we going?" He stole a quick glance at her before answering.

"I thought that maybe we could go The Grill before a movie. I know it's nothing fancy and I'm sorry if you were expecting something else."

"No, The Grill's fine." Elena wondered why he would think that she expected something elegant. She liked simple things. She didn't need to go out to a fancy restaurant for a first date. Simple dates were fine with her.

The ride to The Grill was quiet. But it was a comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward at all. But throughout the ride to The Grill, Elena kept stealing glances at Stefan and he was stealing glances at her.

When they reached The Grill and he parked, being the gentleman that he is, he opened the door to let Elena out. When they walked across the street, their hands would touch for a split second and Elena swore that her hand was on fire from the spot that his hand touched hers.

Stefan held the door open and waited for her to go inside. They found a table in the corner of the room and sat down, waiting for the waiter to come over to take their orders.

"You look beautiful, Elena." The compliment made her blush, which in turn, made him smile.

"Thank you. You like nice."

"Thanks." The waiter came over to take their orders and after he left, they fell into a comfortable conversation, getting to know each other. She told him the reason why she left Mystic Falls in the first place and he told her about his life growing up. He lived in Mystic Falls his entire life. They were both pretty surprised that before Elena moved away that they never crossed paths. Not even once.

They continued to talk throughout the meal about whatever came to their minds. For Elena, being out with him, it was nice. It almost felt right, even though it was their first date. For the first time in a long time, she was happy and she could tell that he was too, with the smile that she was starting to grow to love.

After dinner was done, he paid, even though she tried to put in for her portion. He is too much of a gentleman to let a lady pay on a date. After putting on their jackets, they walked out the door and into the brisk February air and made their way to his car.

"Are we seeing a scary movie or a comedy?" Elena asked him when he turned the car on and started to drive in the direction of the local movie theatre.

"What do you want to see?" He asked turning to look at her for a quick second.

"Well, I'm not a big fan of scary movies but I'll suffer through one if you'd like." She said with a slight smirk. Stefan smiled at the thought that if they did end up seeing a scary movie, she would probably end up being cuddled up into his shoulder throughout the entire movie. He couldn't help it. The thought just came into his head.

"We'll decide when we get there." He said and the rest of the ride was in silence.

**xxxxxx**

They did end up seeing a scary movie and she did end up hiding her face into his shoulder whenever something gory or scary came on screen. She jumped and screamed a couple of times and he couldn't help but smile.

He couldn't deny that she's beautiful. Because she was. He liked everything about her. Her personality and the way that she was around Arianna made him extremely happy. She doesn't attach herself to people that quickly so he knew that Elena was special.

They were walking down the streets of Mystic Falls, drinking hot chocolate. Every so often their hands would graze each other's and afterwards, they both would feel this tingly sensation. It was like electricity. And it was amazing.

"Thank you for tonight, Stefan." She said after she took a sip from her cup. It instantly warmed her chilled insides. He looked over at her quickly and smiled before answering.

"You're welcome. I had fun." He said, turning the corner to go on the street that his car was parked. Yes, it was cold, but after the movie was over he really didn't want the night to end yet. He was enjoying himself with Elena. He missed Arianna terribly but he needed a night out and she always had fun when she was at Bonnie and Damon's house.

They reached his car, and just like earlier, he held the door open for her to get in. "I had fun, too." She said before he closed the door.

"I'm glad." He said after he started the car and he looked over at her and gave her one of his smiles that she was starting to love. The ride to Elena's house was quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence at all. She was actually enjoying the silence. She didn't want to say anything stupid and embarrass herself.

When they reached the front of her house, he shut the car off and opened his door so that he can open hers. _He really is a gentleman. _Elena thought to herself. _Who would have thought that guys like him actually existed_? They walked in silence up the stairs and they were standing in front of the front door.

"I know I already said this, but I really did have a lot of fun tonight." Elena said looking up at him with a big grin on her face.

"So did I." He took her hand and brought it up to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss on top of it. The spot where his lips were was warm and she felt that tingle again. The tingle that she was getting every time their hands accidentally brushed. She couldn't help but blush. Luckily, the light on the porch was dim so he couldn't see the effect that he had on her, but she was positive that he knew anyways.

After he dropped her hand, she went on her tippy toes and went to give him a kiss on the cheek. But before she even had the chance, he turned his head a little and their lips crashed together. Not expecting that to happen, she pulled away quickly due to embarrassment. She couldn't deny that it was nice. Because it was and she felt something. She couldn't describe it but it was amazing. She never felt anything like it before.

The last thing she expected was to feel his hands on her cheeks and his thumbs gently caressing them. She smiled at him and he lowered his head and he kissed her. She put both hands on his waist because she thought if she didn't, she would fall because this instant that she felt his lips on hers, her knees became weak. She couldn't help the smile that formed when she was still kissing him.

He pulled away first. He felt something. Something that he hasn't felt in a long time. Something that he hasn't felt since before Rebekah died. He liked the feeling that he lips left after they were separated from him.

He smiled at her and took his hands off her face, resting them back down by his side. "I should get going."

"Okay." She said nodding.

"Goodnight, Elena."

"Goodnight, Stefan." She watched him walk off the porch before she unlocked the door and went inside. Once inside, she leaned back against the door and touched her lips with the tip of her finger, smiling. Her lips were tingly and if it was even possible, her smile grew.

Even though it was only their first date and she hasn't known him that long, she felt something for him. And she had a feeling that one day, those feelings are probably going to escalate into something more. She was happy but scared at the same time.

**xxxxxx**

Bonnie told Stefan that she was going to keep Arianna overnight because she had been sleeping for a few hours. What's the point in waking her up? Bonnie knows how to take care of kids, obviously.

Bonnie wanted details about his date. But he wasn't going to go into detail over the phone. He wanted to see her expression when he told her that he kissed Elena and the effect that it had on him. Lying in bed an hour later, he still had the feeling of her lips on his. He never wanted the feeling to go away because he hasn't felt it in so long.

But in a way, he kind of felt like he was betraying Rebekah. Even though him moving on with his life is what she wants and what he needs to, he couldn't help the feeling from coming up. He just hoped that one day, that feeling would go away. Because he knew that he could be happy with Elena. He just had to keep telling himself that it's what Rebekah would have wanted. And it's what he needed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Consider this a filler. I wanted to put something up for you guys.

**xxxxxx**

"He kissed you?" Caroline said to Elena the next day. It was a Saturday and Elena and Caroline decided that they wanted to go out for breakfast. They ended up at The Grill, like usual.

Elena couldn't help the smile, or the blush, that spread across her face. She felt the effect of the kiss long after the date was over. She felt it up until she fell to sleep. Her lips were tingly. It was like there was some sort of electric shock. And she liked it. A lot.

"Judging by the color on your face and the smile I think it's safe to say that you liked it." Caroline said after she took a sip of her coffee and set the mug back down on the table.

"Yeah, Care, I did." Elena said, finally deciding to speak up.

"This is so cute! Two of my best friend's dating!" She said squealing like she was in high school again.

"We're not dating, Caroline. We went out once." Elena didn't know what that considered them. Yes, they only went out once but she would definitely have been up for a second date, a third date, and so on. They had really hit it off.

"Not yet." Caroline said. "But you will be." She said knowingly. "I know these things, 'Lena. You guys have something. Just wait and see."

**xxxxxx**

When Stefan arrived at Bonnie's house to pick up Arianna, Bonnie immediately started asking him twenty questions about his date the night before.

"You bought her flowers?" Bonnie asked with a huge grin on her face. Stefan smiled and nodded his head.

"The whole night was amazing, Bon. It was a typical dinner and a movie date but it was …. I don't even know. I had fun with her. We really hit it off."

"What did you do after the movie?" Bonnie asked with another huge grin plastered on her face. She was happy for Stefan because after all that time, he was finally letting himself move forward with his life and that's exactly what he needed to do. She was just glad that he finally realized it and decided to get out there.

"We went out for hot chocolate and then we walked around town for a little bit. I didn't want the date to end after the movie." He looked over at Bonnie who still had that huge grin plastered on her face. "And then when I brought her home I walked her to her door."

Bonnie's face fell in disappointment. "You didn't give her a goodnight kiss?" Stefan couldn't hide the grin that formed on his face. He couldn't lie to one of his best friend's. As soon as she seen the grin on his face, her smile reappeared.

"I felt something when I kissed her. Something that I haven't felt since Rebekah. I don't know if it's because I haven't been out with anyone or because I know that I can feel something for her. But I liked it, Bonnie." Bonnie wrapped her arms around Stefan's neck and pulled him in for a hug.

"I'm so happy, Stefan!" She yelled in his ear. "You deserve this. You both do." Arianna came into the room all ready to go. Stefan gave his thanks to Bonnie for keeping her overnight and they said their farewells to her and Damon before they left out the door.

**xxxxxx**

It's Monday morning and Elena was feeling kind of nervous. She hasn't seen Stefan since their date. She was nervous that things were going to become awkward after their kiss but she hoped that they wouldn't be.

Both Caroline and Bonnie were going to be late to the day care, leaving her to open and set things up. After she threw her jacket on, she grabbed her car keys and headed out the door. Along the way to the day care, she decided to stop for a cup of coffee.

After she got her coffee and she was on her way to the day care, she couldn't help her thoughts to traveling to her date with Stefan. She had fun, and that's something that she hasn't had for a very long time. They had hit it off and when conversation stopped, the silence between them wasn't awkward at all. It was actually a comfortable silence, both of them just enjoying being around each other and enjoying each other's company.

Plain and simple, she enjoyed being around him. She didn't want her date to end so she was actually glad that he had brought up the idea of getting a hot chocolate and just walking around. The dates that she went on in Los Angeles didn't compare to the date that she had with Stefan. Plus she didn't feel the vibe with anyone from LA like she did with Stefan.

**xxxxxx**

Arianna was the first child to arrive at the day care. She was more than happy to go off and play in a random spot so that her dad could talk to Elena. When they were around each other, they could both feel the electricity that was vibrating between them. They were content with just staring in each other's eyes for a few moments, completely getting lost in them.

"So, Elena," He started to say before Arianna came out of the area that she was playing in.

"I have to use the baffroom." She said.

"Bathroom." Stefan said correcting her. "You know where it is, princess." She went in the direction of the bathroom and disappeared behind the door. Elena and Stefan were facing each other again. "I want to tell you again that I had fun the other night. I haven't been out in a while but I'm glad that I went out with you." Elena couldn't help the smile that spread on her face.

Stefan reached his hand out and grabbed her hand. Her hand was extremely small in his. But him holding it, it felt nice. Arianna came out of the bathroom and stopped when she reached Stefan and Elena, noticing their hands.

"Do you guys like each other like Auntie Bonnie and Uncle Damon like each other?" Elena recalled Arianna asking her this question before. She definitely had an answer to Arianna's question but didn't know if she wanted to say it out loud.

Stefan looked at his daughter quickly before looking back up at Elena right in her brown eyes. "Yes. I do." Elena felt the blush that was rising on her cheeks. The way he was staring at her, into her eyes, she decided to come clean and tell him her feelings.

"Yes." She gave him a quick smile before quickly averting her gaze, afraid that by looking him in the eyes, it would make her blush again.

Stefan started to feel something for Elena quickly, and that kind of scared him. It could have to do with the fact that he hasn't had a date since before Rebekah died, or it could have been that she adored Arianna, and he absolutely loved that. Anyone that could attach themselves to a child that isn't theirs has to be special.

Seeming satisfied with the answer that she received, Arianna went back into the House area that she was in before she came out saying that she needed the bathroom. Still holding her hand, he started rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand, sending tingles and goose bumps up her entire arm. Again, she felt the blush start to rise in her cheeks.

"There's a play in Richmond on Friday. Do you want to go?" Stefan asked, still rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.

"I'd love to." Elena said with a smile on her face.

"Great." He said, smiling. "I have to go before I'm late." Not even thinking twice about his decision on if he should or shouldn't, he bent his head down and he kissed her. Much like their first one, it had the same effect. Elena smiled as she pulled away to end it.

"Arianna," Stefan bellowed throughout the day care. "I have to leave." He regretted spending the last couple of minutes he had with Elena instead of Arianna but he knew that Ari would understand. She came out from the House area and went up to him to give him a hug. Elena smiled as he bent down to pick her up. He placed a kiss on her temple before setting her down again. "Behave Ari. I love you. I'll be back later."

"Bye daddy." He smiled at the both of them before turning around and walking out the door. Elena couldn't help but smile.

**xxxxxx**

"You guys are totally dating." Caroline said while they were cleaning everything up.

"I don't know what we are doing, Caroline." Elena said while wiping down one of the tables. She decided to tell Bonnie and Caroline when they came in. She wouldn't have been able to hide it from them anyways. She had smile plastered on her face since the moment that he had said that he liked her. It was like they were in high school all over again.

"Trust me, 'Lena. Soon enough you guys will be official." Bonnie said from behind Caroline. She checked her watch and sighed. "Can you guys finish up? I have to leave." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, go ahead." Caroline said. Bonnie waved goodbye, grabbed her things and walked out the door.

**A/N** : Sorry it's so short.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

"I really like him, Bonnie." Elena said while walking through the doors of the day care the following day. She took off her jacket and put it inside the closet, closing the door after Bonnie did the same.

"I knew you would. Stefan's a great guy. After Rebekah died he wouldn't do much of anything. He was taking care of Ari and even though Damon and I always offered to take her so he could get out he would always tell us no. But then you came back home everything changed. He changed." They started getting the areas ready for when the day care opens. "I can tell that he likes you." Elena smiled, remembering the conversation that she and Stefan had the previous day. Well, it was kind of like an interrogation that was lead by Arianna.

The door opened and Caroline came in, immediately going over to a station to set up after putting her jacket away. "So, I hear you have another date this Friday." She said giving Elena a slight smirk before going back to whatever it was that she was doing. Elena smiled. She couldn't help it. Whenever someone brought up Stefan she smiled.

"You didn't tell me that, Elena." Bonnie said feigning hurt. Elena gave her a slight shrug before taking a sip of her coffee that she grabbed on the way in to the day care.

About a half an hour later, they finished up setting up. When the door opened and Caroline seen who it was, she gave Bonnie. They both smirked at Elena before grabbing their jackets and leaving the day care. Elena smiled when she felt someone attach themselves to her leg. Looking down, she noticed it was Arianna, even though she had already known. Arianna was the only one who did that.

Elena helped her take her jacket off and she put it away. She immediately went to the drawing station and started drawing something after she grabbed a paper and a pack of crayons.

"Hey." Elena turned her head away from Arianna at the sound of his voice. He had a silly grin on his face.

"Hi." Elena replied back. They were staring at each other for a few minutes, neither one of them talking. But they didn't really need to talk. Just being near each other was enough for them.

"Well, I should get going. I'll be back around 5 to get her."

"Okay." Elena watched when he walked over to Arianna to give her a hug goodbye and a kiss on her forehead. When he walked back over to Elena, he gave he"r a kiss on her cheek. He walked out the door smiling.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan went to visit Rebekah before he went to work. He hasn't been there in a while and he regretted it. He sat on the cold hard ground sighing. Then he started talking to her as if she was there, instead of a stone.

"Hey Beks. Sorry I haven't been around lately. I've been busy. I did what you would have wanted me to do. I went out with someone. Her name's Elena. She's kind and she loves Arianna." He paused and started pulling at whatever grass was poking through the ground. "Arianna loves her. But she misses her mom. I see more of you in her every day." He let out another long sigh before standing up. "I'll be by soon." He turned and walked away.

**xxxxxx**

It was nearing the end of the day and the only child that was left that had to be picked up was Arianna. Bonnie and Caroline of course, left Elena to close up. Arianna was sitting on her lap, her head leaning back against her shoulder and Elena had a book opened in front of her.

"Cinderella's step mommy and sister's were bad people." Arianna said. Elena closed the book and set it on the table that was next to her.

"Yes they were." Elena said leaning her head back to rest against the back of the chair.

"But she lived happily ever after." Arianna said looking up at her with a smile on her face. Elena nodded her head. She was about to get up and get another book when she heard the door open and then close immediately after. Seeing Stefan coming into view put a smile on her face.

Stefan had an instant smile when he seen Arianna on Elena's lap. Elena would be a great role model for her. She looks up to her a lot and Stefan liked that, especially because the only females that she has in her life are Caroline and Bonnie. She loves them both, too, but she doesn't have a special bond with them like she has with Elena.

Arianna jumped from Elena's lap and ran into her father's open and waiting arms. Placing her on his hip, he kissed her temple in the process. "I missed you, princess."

"I missed you too, daddy! Guess what Elena just read to me?" She asked excitedly. He snuck a quick glance at Elena before turning his gaze back to his daughter.

"What?" He asked matching her excitement.

"Cinderella!" She said excitedly. Stefan smirked at his daughter's excitement over a simple book but it is her favorite book and favorite movie. Elena finally stood up from the chair that she was sitting in and went to grab Arianna's jacket. When she made it over to Arianna and Stefan after grabbing her coat, she wiggled to get out of Stefan's arms so he placed her on the ground. Elena helped her into her jacket, zipping it up once she was in it

"I told her that Cinderella was my favorite story when I was a little girl." Elena said standing upright. "Then she wanted me to read it to her because she said it's her favorite, too."

"It is her favorite. We watch it every weekend." Elena smiled and thought that it was adorable that he watches Cinderella with her every weekend. If it were possible, she was sure that her heart would have melted just by his confession. He was too good to be true. "We should get going." Stefan said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Bye Elena!" Arianna said hugging her leg very tightly.

"Bye." Stefan said before kissing her on the cheek. She yelled bye after them and locked up, grabbed her stuff and left.

**xxxxxx**

The week flew by in a blur. Before Elena knew it, it was Friday. She had another date with Stefan that later that night. Stefan had told her the day before that Bonnie was going to keep Arianna overnight. She wanted them to enjoy themselves and not have to rush back

It was the end of the day and like usual, Bonnie and Caroline left. They got used to the fact that Elena was willing to lock everything up and now it was rare for them to stay until the end of the day. Arianna was the last child left to have to get picked up. Bonnie told Stefan that she could just take her home with her but he wanted to spend a little time with her before he had to drop her off.

It was nearing 4:30 and Elena and Arianna had picked up a routine. Every night after everyone left and it was quiet, Arianna would pick out a book and Elena would read to her. This particular day, Arianna wanted to hear Little Red Riding Hood.

After Elena was done reading, she set the book down on the table near her. Like usual, Arianna leaned her head back against Elena's shoulders. "Do you like that I'm hanging out with your dad?" Elena asked her. She wanted to ask her before if it bothered her and decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Yes." Arianna said quickly, without even having to think about it. "My daddy was talking to my Uncle Damon on the phone. He told him how much he likes you." Even though they had already come clean about their feelings towards one another in front of Arianna, Elena couldn't help the smile or the blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"I really like him, too." She said looking at Arianna. Arianna smiled up at her before answering.

"I know." The door opened, signaling someone coming in and she knew that it was Stefan. He came into their view as Arianna jumped off Elena's lap. She got her jacket and put it on, allowing Elena to zip it up for her.

"Wow, you're in a hurry to leave." Stefan said smiling down at Arianna and laughing at the little girl's pushiness to leave.

"We have to hurry, daddy. Auntie Bonnie said that you have a date. I don't know what that is but you are gonna have tons of fun!" She said excitedly. She hugged Elena's leg before tugging on the bottom of her dad's jacket to get him to pick her up. Knowing that he can't say no, he lifted her into his arms.

"You bet I am." He said turning his attention from Arianna to Elena. She smiled while gazing into his green eyes. "So I'll pick you up around 6:45 tonight. Is that okay with you?" _Why is he asking me if it's okay? Of course it's okay!_ She thought to herself.

"Definitely." She said happily.

"Great." See you then. He said smiling.

"Bye Elena." Arianna said.

"Bye." She watched them leave and then finished closing up.

**xxxxxx**

Elena looked at the floor length mirror hanging on her bedroom door. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a black sweater and black boots. She straightened her hair and had on very light make up. Checking to see that it was close to 6:45, she grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and left her room to go downstairs to wait for Stefan.

He was a few minutes early. Right when she reached the bottom of the steps the door bell rang. She felt butterflies in her stomach when she opened the door and saw him standing there, with another bouquet of flowers. He handed them to her, smiling.

"Thank you." She said smelling them and smiling. "Come in." She opened the door wider for him to step inside. "I'll be right back." She walked in the direction of the kitchen where the flowers were from the week before. They were starting to wither so she replaced those flowers with the flowers that he just gave her after changing the water.

After she was done, she put her jacket on and walked towards him standing near the door. He was wearing black boots, blue jeans and a v neck shirt, topped with his leather jacket. _He's so gorgeous._ She smiled at the thoughts that crossed through her mind.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded and he put his hand on her lower back, as she led him out the house. She liked the feeling of his hand on her back and the after effect it had on her. Her insides were all jumpy and the spot where his hand was tingly. Even though she had a jacket on and a black sweater, she could feel his hand on her skin.

When they reached his car, he opened her door after unlocking it and went around to his side. After he was settled in, he looked at her quickly before starting the car. "You look beautiful, Elena." She blushed at the compliment.

"Thank you." She said and he started driving.

**xxxxxx**

They talked about Arianna the entire drive to Richmond. They talked about how close she became to Elena and how she never stopped talking about her. He told her about the first time she walked and the first time she talked. He's a proud father and Elena liked that about him.

When they reached the theatre, he parked the car and opened the door for her when he reached her side. He held his hand out to help her out and when she was out of the car, he didn't let go of it. They walked into the theatre hand in hand. The only time he let go of her hand is when he had to get the tickets to the play out of his pocket. After he handed them over, he took her hand again, lacing their fingers together.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Stefan and Elena were sitting hand in hand watching Romeo and Juliet play out in front of them. Stefan never told her what play he was taking her too so it kind of came as a shock when the play started because it just so happened to be her favorite Shakespeare play. Every so often, Stefan would steal a glance in her direction and smile without her knowing. She was so entranced at the scenes playing out in front of them. He could tell that she was enjoying herself and he like that he could help her do so.

Elena was the first girl that he's been out with since Rebekah died and he was truly happy being at the theatre with her. He knew that he had made the right choice in finally asking her out the first time. Although it was still too early to define what exactly it was that they were doing, he was happy to just simply spend time with her. But he had to admit, he was enjoying himself at the play just as much as she was.

Rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand got her take her attention away from the play to look over at him quickly. She looked down at their intertwined hands, smiling. She had been completely into watching the play that she had even forgot that they were still holding hands. But being snapped back into reality, she couldn't help but smile at the feeling in the pit of her stomach and the feeling of her hand in his.

They locked eyes for a quick second before they both turned their heads to continue to watch the play. For the first time in a long time, Elena was happy. She had grown up a lot over the years and she knew that if her parents were still with her, they would both be happy with her. She also knew that they would approve of Stefan. How could anyone not approve of him? He's sweet, caring, a gentleman and a good father to Arianna. To her, he was perfect.

**xxxxxx**

It was late when the play was over. Bonnie and Damon are keeping Arianna over night so Stefan didn't have to rush to get back home. He knows that she's in good hands with her Aunt and Uncle. They decided to stop at a local diner before they drove home. After he parked the car and opened her door for her, just like earlier in the night he held his hand out to help her out of the car.

Once they were in the diner and seated, they looked over their menus before the waiter came over asking for their drinks. Once they ordered and he left, Elena decided to speak up.

"Thank you for taking me to the play, Stefan. Romeo and Juliet has always been my favorite Shakespeare play." She told him looking into his green eyes. They were endless pools of green and she found herself getting lost in them.

"You're welcome. Yeah, Bonnie and Caroline told me that it was your favorite play and when I found the announcement in the paper I figured it was a good time to ask you out on a second date." He says smiling. The waiter came back over with their drinks, took their order and walked away again.

"Yeah, I figured that one of them told you or you were psychic or something." He looked down at the table quickly before looking back up into her brown eyes.

"It's just one more thing that I know about you." They sat staring at each other for a few minutes before the food came. They ate in silence, but neither one of them cared. Just being there with each other was enough for them. They could enjoy each other's company without even speaking.

**xxxxxx**

Much like their first date, Stefan paid the bill. Elena tried to pay but he wouldn't let her and said that it was the guy's responsibility to pay the bill when out on a date. When they were in the car and driving, Stefan had one hand on the wheel. He took her hand from the place on her lap with his other hand, and for what felt like the millionth time that night, they were holding hands.

"I have somewhere else that we can go if you want." He said taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips so he can kiss the top of her hand.

"Where?" She said eagerly.

"You'll see." He said, turning to smirk at her quickly. The next ten minutes they drove in silence. When he finally parked the car, he told Elena to close her eyes. When she did, he got out of the car to help her out and he covered her eyes with his hands, to make sure that she wasn't able to see anything. With one hand resting on her lower back and the other covering her eyes, he led the way. "Are your eyes still closed?" He asked. His face was close to hers and she could feel the heat of his breath on her cheek.

"Yes. But can I know we're we are going?"

"We're here but don't open your eyes yet." He says. He led her a little father before coming to a complete stop. He uncovered her eyes but kept his hand on her lower back. "Open your eyes." He whispered into her ear. His close proximity and his voice in her ear sent chills down her spine.

When she opened her eyes, she gasped. She could hear water flowing underneath them. She noticed they were standing in the middle of a white gazebo. Next to the gazebo was a small brook and Elena had wondered why she hadn't heard the running of water before. It must have had to do with the fact that she couldn't concentrate on anything with his hand on her back.

There were lights on the inside and outside of the gazebo. "This place is beautiful." She said looking all around her. "How did you find it?" She asked turning so that she was facing him.

"I was in the city one day and just wandered over here. I used to come here just to think after Rebekah died." He said putting his hand on the railing of the gazebo and looking over to the water. She stood next to him, resting her elbow on the railing so that she was able to look at him. "I'm sorry I just brought her up. I probably ruined our date, huh?" He asked looking over at him.

"No." She said putting her hand on his shoulder. "She was important to you and you have a daughter with her. It's okay to talk about her, Stefan. I'll be here to listen if you ever need to talk." He stood up straight and turned so that they were face to face.

"Thank you, Elena." He said. She turned away and placed her hands on the railing so that she could overlook to the flowing water. Standing behind her, his instincts told him to wrap his arms around her waist so that's what he did. He wrapped them around her and she leaned back into his strong torso and rested her head on his shoulder. She took her hands off the railing and placed them onto of his that were resting on her stomach and he kissed her head.

For a few minutes, they stood there in silence. She enjoyed the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms like that and she couldn't help the goose bumps that were slowly starting to form on her skin. She didn't know if it was from the cold or from him but either way, she didn't care. She didn't want this to end. But she had to know something.

"What are we doing, Stefan?" She asked turning her head slightly to the side so that she was able to look him in the eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked in response.

"I mean us. What exactly are we doing?" She asked again. He looked back out over to the brook before answering.

"What do you want us to be doing?" Was what he said in response.

"I don't want to push you into a relationship if you're not ready." She said looking away from him. Taking one of his hands off its place on her stomach, he raised it and used his index finger. Putting it under her chin, he turned her face back so that she was looking at him.

"I'm ready." And before she could say anything back to him, he leaned down and placed his lips on hers and gave her the sweetest kiss that he could muster.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan and Elena made it back into Mystic Falls late. They stayed at the gazebo just standing and talking, sometimes kissing, and just enjoying being with each other. They lost track of time and before they knew it, it was nearing 1 am and they still had an hour's drive back to Mystic Falls.

When they did reach Mystic Falls, Stefan immediately drove to Elena's house, actually apologizing for the time. She told him that she didn't care about the time because she still had fun and she was partially to blame, too.

Standing in front of the front door, Elena was staring at Stefan unsure of what to say to him. Luckily, he broke the silence. "I had fun, Elena." He said, taking both of her hands in his and rubbing his thumbs over the tops of them. She smiled up at him before answering.

"I did, too." She said. "But I should go inside." She said attempting to take her hands out of his but he held on tighter. Smiling, he gently pulled her to him and kissed her, placing his hands on her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let them rest there.

After what seemed like an eternity, they both pulled away needing air. Resting their foreheads against each other's, they smiled at each other.

"Good night, Stefan." She said kissing him one last time.

"Good night, Elena." Stefan said and turned to walk off the porch. Elena watched him walk away before turning around and going inside. She was definitely going to sleep with a smile on her face tonight.

**A/N** : I hope it's not too much for them to be together after their second date but I feel like that they had to get together sometime soon. I can only prolong it for so long. Plus I definitely need SE happiness. =D


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena awoke with a smile on her face the next morning. She had the best date of her life the night before and she and Stefan are together. She couldn't help but replay the previous night's events in her head and she couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. The way that he had his arms wrapped around her and _that kiss_ that they shared made butterflies erupt in her stomach. She truly felt like she was in high school again with the way the butterflies were but she honestly didn't care.

Ever since their first date and they seen each other, they would flirt with each other and steal kisses and she didn't know what to think of their 'relationship'. But now, after their second date, she could label them as boyfriend and girlfriend and she liked it.

Finally rolling on her side to check the time, she realized that it was close to 10 am. Feeling well rested, she got out of bed and made her way downstairs, heading straight for the coffee maker in the kitchen.

"Someone had a good night." She jumped, held her hand over her heart, and turned around to face a smirking Jenna.

"Jenna, you scared me!" Elena said taking her hand off of her chest that was over her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry, 'Lena." She said smiling. She walked further into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee mug and placed it on the counter. "So are you going to tell me how your date went? I heard you come in late last night. Or early this morning is more like it." She said turning around and looking at a beet red Elena. "That good, huh?"

"He took me to see Romeo and Juliet and you know how much I love that play." Elena took a seat after making her coffee and Jenna followed. "Then we went out to eat and after he took me to this area that had a gazebo and a brook right next to it. We talked and kissed and he told me that he was ready to be in a relationship. Then we kissed some more and we lost track of time, which is why I was home so late."

"So I'm assuming you guys are together now?" Jenna asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yes." Elena said smiling.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan slept later than he planned to that morning. He woke up a little later than 10 and silently prayed that Bonnie wouldn't kill him because he was supposed to pick Arianna up for 9. He grabbed his phone and called Bonnie apologizing profusely and told her he would be there after he took a quick shower. After he grabbed clothes he headed right into the bathroom.

After his shower and he was dressed, he left his house quickly. He arrived at the boarding house in record time and when Bonnie opened the door, he apologized yet again.

"Out late?" She asked him ushering him inside and out of the chilly weather.

"Yeah." He said looking around for Arianna.

"She's with Damon. They're planning their Disney trip for the Summer time already." Stefan nodded his head. "So did you have fun?" She started walking into the living room to sit on the couch and he followed.

"Yeah, I did." He said smiling and looking in her direction. "Thanks for the tip by the way. She loved the play." Bonnie smiled, showing off her pearly whites before answering.

"I'm glad. I knew she would enjoy it. I told you it was her favorite." She said giving his shoulder a slight nudge with her own. "Where did you take her after?" Bonnie wasn't nosey for details like Caroline. She only liked knowing the minor details and that was fine with Stefan.

"Well we went out to eat and then I took her to that gazebo that I found in Richmond. I thought I ruined it when I told her the reason why I used to go over there but she told me that I didn't ruin our date. She understands."

"I knew she would. I've known Elena for a while and that's one of her traits. She's compassionate and understanding. She may not have been that way when we were teenagers but she grew up a lot during the years."

"Do you find it weird that we went to the same school and never crossed paths?"

"I do and sometimes I wish that we all did because I think that you could have helped Elena out of her ways but then if you guys felt for each other then, we probably wouldn't have Ari." Bonnie said sadly.

"Yeah, you're right. So it's kind of a good thing that things turned out the way they did. I don't mean with Rebekah not being or Elena's parents not being here, but I mean the fact that we didn't cross paths in high school. I can't imagine my life without Arianna in it." Stefan answered honestly.

"I can't imagine mine without her in it, either. I love that little girl you know." Bonnie answered with a smile.

"I know." Stefan said laughing slightly. "She loves her Auntie Bon, too." He said standing up after he heard the door to Damon's office open. He heard her little feet come pitter pattering towards him and when she reached him, he scooped her up into his arms, instantly placing a kiss on her temple. Even though she's seen this exchange millions of times, she couldn't help but feel like her heart nearly melted into a puddle in the bottom of her stomach. As much as she missed Rebekah herself, she knew that Stefan needed to move on with his life and Ari needed to have another female role model in her life. "Ready to go kiddo?" He asked after placing her back down.

"Yes daddy." She and Bonnie left the room to go upstairs to get her things.

"So, brother." Damon said walking over to stand face to face with his younger brother. "Get a new girlfriend yet?" Damon always said what was on his mind. He went straight to the point.

"As a matter of fact, yes I did." Stefan said smiling.

"Good." Damon said patting Stefan on the back. "It's about damn time, too." Stefan was about to say something else when he heard Arianna and Bonnie come down the stairs.

"I'm ready to go now, daddy." Arianna said pulling on his jacket. Bonnie gave him her stuff and after saying thanks and apologizing again for being late, Stefan zipped up her jacket and led her out the door and into the car.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan and Arianna fell into their Saturday routine pretty quickly. After a quick lunch at the Grill, he took her home and had her play in the living room while he did the household 'chores'. When he was in the middle of switching laundry over, Arianna came up to him.

"Daddy?" She asked tugging on his shirt to get his attention.

"Yes princess?" He asked squatting down so that he was eye level with her.

"Can Elena come over?" She asked sounding hopeful. His eyes lit up at the sound of her name.

"I'll call her and ask her if she wants to." He said. She clapped her hands, squealed, and ran out of the room. Luckily, they had exchanged numbers the night before. She picked up on the second ring and he could pretty much hear the smile in her voice when she spoke.

"Hey." He said smiling. "Arianna wants to know if you want to come over for a little bit." He asked sounding hopeful himself. "She wants to see you." He paused. "And so do I."

"Of course I'll come over." She said happily. Stefan gave her the address. "See you soon, Stefan."

"See you soon." They hung up the phone and Stefan went to Arianna's room to tell her that Elena was coming over. Stefan was glad that he had been able to get everything done around the house, minus the one last load of laundry.

**xxxxxx**

When he heard the doorbell, he went to open the door but Arianna managed to get in front of him so she could open it to let Elena in. He had to lift her a little bit so she could reach the handle because she was a little too short, which was a good thing he thought. When the door opened and she was in his sight, he had to admit that each day that went by, Elena seemed to get more and more beautiful, if that was even possible.

"Well are you going to invite me in or am I going to have to spend the rest of the day in the cold on your front porch?" She asked playfully and breaking him out of the trance that he was in. He let out an awkward laugh and opened the door a little wider to let her in. After she took off her jacket and before he could even say anything to her, Arianna had her by the hand and pulling her upstairs.

"I want to show you my room." She said when she reached the top landing. Stefan didn't hear Elena's reply because it was a mumble. He took this time to go into the laundry room and to finish the last load of laundry while Arianna was busy showing off her room.

**xxxxxx**

"You have an awesome room. I wish my room was like this!" Elena said excitedly. Arianna's room was pink, just what basically any 4 year old girl would want and her dresser was white. She had stuffed animals everywhere. Arianna had a big smile on her face and she led Elena over to the little book shelf that she had in her room that was lined with fairytale stories.

"Can you read to me?" She asked looking up at her.

"Sure. Pick out a book." Elena said, finding a spot on the rug and leaning her back against the bed. When Arianna found a book, she brought it to Elena and found her spot in her lap. She opened the book and started reading.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan always enjoyed his weekends with his daughter. He didn't get to spend much time with her during the week. He felt kind of guilty so after he was done with the laundry, he decided to go upstairs and into Arianna's room.

He walked into the room and found them on the floor, Arianna in Elena's lap, almost asleep. He walked over to them and took the open place next to Elena and listened, with a smile, her reading to Ari. She would be sleeping before the book was even over but it was around her nap time anyways.

He was right. Elena only had a few pages left and Arianna was out like a light. She carefully stood up with her and placed her on the bed, covering her up. She walked out of the room and Stefan followed, closing the door slightly behind him.

"Come on. I'll give you a tour of the downstairs. It's just bedrooms up here." Stefan said quietly and he led Elena down the stairs. He showed her around the house and afterwards went into the kitchen. "So do you want coffee or something?" He asked unsure of what to do now. The only people that ever went over were Bonnie and Caroline. Occasionally Damon would too but he usually just helped himself to anything in the kitchen.

"Coffee's great." She said smiling. He turned around and went to working making coffee for the two of them and Elena was admiring his back through his tight v-neck shirt.

"Enjoying what you see?" He said because he could feel her gaze going over him over and over again. He turned his around a little and seen her cheeks turn red from being caught. She got up from her seat and walked over to where he was and put her hand on his back, gently rubbing it.

"Yes I am." She said looking him in the eyes and biting her lower lip. "I don't think I got to properly greet you earlier." She had a twinkle in her eye. Her eyes traveled down to his lips and she started leaning up to him.

"No, I don't think you did." They were so close when he talked, he could feel his lips brushing hers. Then they met and much like the kisses that they have been sharing, it was magical. Stefan wrapped his hands around her waist and put her arms around his shoulders, placing her hands on his neck.

Eventually, they had to pull away due to lack of oxygen. But before she could get away, he pecked her on her lips once more and he could feel her smile into the kiss. "I should check on the coffee." He said after pulling away but leaving his hands on her waist.

"Okay." She said taking her hands off of his neck. He got back to his task and Elena took her seat at the kitchen table, patiently waiting for him to join her. When he did join her, they fell into conversation quite easily. They lost track of time and the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs broke them out of their Stefan and Elena bubble.

Arianna walked into the kitchen rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. Stefan thought that she was going to go to him but she went straight for Elena and hopped up into her lap. "Wow." Stefan said laughing. "I'm hurt."

"Sorry daddy. Elena's my best friend." She said smiling up at Elena. That statement alone warmed Elena's heart a great deal.

"Don't tell your Auntie Bonnie & Auntie Caroline but you're my best friend, too." Elena said smiling at Arianna. Stefan couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. He was extremely glad that Elena and Arianna formed this special bond of theirs.

"Hey, Ari," Stefan said getting her attention. "How do you feel about Elena spending a lot of time with your daddy?" He asked because he didn't want his relationship with Elena to affect her in a bad way.

"I like Elena, daddy." That was a good enough answer for him. "I'm hungry." She said changing the subject quickly.

"I'll make something." He said standing up.

"Are you gonna stay and eat with us?" Arianna said looking up at Elena expectantly.

"If you and your dad want me to." Elena said, immediately turning her attention to Stefan.

"Of course I do." Stefan said turning his attention to Elena. "We. Of course we do."

"Then I'll stay." Arianna clapped happily and Elena smiled in Stefan's direction, who smiled back and then got back to work with whatever he was preparing in the kitchen.

**A/N** : Good? Bad? Despise it? Let me know what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Just to let you guys know, the next chapter there will be a time jump. This one is still the same day.

**xxxxxx**

Dinner was nice. Stefan cooked but let Arianna help him with the minor things. He made spaghetti and garlic bread and he made a nice garden salad to go with it. To say that it was delicious would be an understatement. Elena helped clean up while Arianna was off in the living room picking out a movie that they were going to watch.

"Do you want a hot chocolate?" Stefan asked Elena after they had finished putting away the dinner dishes.

"Hot chocolate sounds great." She said smiling up at him. "I'm going to go and see if Ari picked out a movie." She said turning to leave. Even though Stefan already knew what movie Arianna would have picked out, he just let her go into the living room, anyways. It was Saturday and he and Arianna always watched Cinderella.

"Ari, before we start the movie you're going to take a bath okay?" Stefan said walking into the living room. Arianna turned around on her spot in front of the shelf with all the DVDs and nodded her head okay.

"Are you still going to be here?" Arianna asked Elena afraid that she was going to leave before they even had the chance to watch a movie.

"Yeah, I will be." Elena said smiling. Arianna jumped up from her spot on the floor and walked over to her dad.

"I didn't put the water on for the hot chocolate yet. I'll do that after I get her out of the tub. Make yourself at home." He said and followed Arianna up the stairs. Elena took the time to look at all the pictures that were on the walls and any other surface in the house. There were pictures of just Arianna, some of her and Stefan, some of Arianna and Bonnie or Caroline and then she came across one with a blonde. But it wasn't Caroline.

This picture looked like it was taken by a professional. The way the sunlight was really brought it out. It was a picture of Stefan and Rebekah. Elena knew it was Rebekah. Stefan was standing behind her, hands resting on her very visible baby bump. Stefan was kissing her cheek and she was smiling into the camera. They truly looked happy.

She was staring at that picture for a long time. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and that's what broke her out of the trance that she was in. When she turned around to walk she collided into the strong torso of Stefan.

"Hey." He said smiling at her, then frowning a second after he noticed the picture that she was staring at.

"She was beautiful, Stefan. Arianna looks identical to her." He averted his gaze from the picture back into her eyes.

"Maybe it's time for me to put that picture away." He said going to grab it off the shelf that it was resting on. Elena grabbed his wrist before he had the chance to.

"Memories are important, Stefan. She was your wife. Besides, Arianna probably likes to see this picture."

"She does." She let go of his wrist and made her way around him to sit next to Arianna on the floor. "So," she said looking up at him. "How about that hot chocolate?" He smiled and made his way into the kitchen to make the three of them a cup of hot chocolate.

**xxxxxx**

When Stefan returned into the living room, he gave them each their cups of hot chocolate. He had to go back in to get his and when he came back in he popped the DVD in the DVD player and took a seat on the couch. He put his and Arianna's cup on the end table and picked her up and placed her on his lap. Elena took a seat in the middle. Stefan noticed that she was shivering so he grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and unfolded and, draping it across all three of them.

He took his arm and draped it over Elena's shoulder, gently pulling her in closer to him and she rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed play on the remote and placed it back in its place next to his mug.

Like usual, by the end of the movie, Arianna was out like a light. Elena moved her head from its spot on Stefan's shoulder. Careful not to wake her, he stood up and carried her up the stairs and into her room and put her in bed, covered her up, and kissed her on the forehead good night.

"I should get going." Elena said standing up from her spot on the couch. Stefan walked over to her so he was standing in front of her.

"Or we can watch another movie." He said smiling at her. "Sorry you had to sit through Cinderella. It's a tradition with me and her."

"It's okay. I didn't mind." She said looking up at him. "And about your offer for another movie, I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"You're not overstaying your welcome." He said taking her hands in his. "I want to spend time with you, Elena. Even if we're just watching a movie." She smiled and kissed him quickly, then taking her seat right back on the couch.

Stefan picked a movie off the shelf and popped it into the DVD player. After he put the movie in, he shut the remaining lights off in the room and made his way back over the couch and pressed play on the remote. Like before, he wrapped his arm around Elena, pulling her closer to him and draped the blanket over the two of them. She put her head back on its resting place on his shoulder.

Throughout the movie, Stefan was gently rubbing his fingers over her arm, causing her to smile. Every now and then, she would kiss his cheek just to let him know that she was still with him. When the movie was over, Stefan turned on the lamp that was on the end table near the couch. Elena picked her head up off its place on his shoulder and checked the time on her phone.

"Now I should really get going." She said turning on the couch to look at him.

"Okay." Stefan stood up from the couch and held his hand out to help her up. She grabbed her phone and her jacket and made her way over to the door. Stefan followed behind her and walked out onto the porch with her.

"I had a nice time, Stefan." She said smiling up at him. "Thank you. I love spending time with you and Arianna."

"We love spending time with you, too." He said grabbing her hands and interlocking their fingers. "She loves having you around." Elena averted her gaze from his and smiled. He let go of her hands and moved them so he was cupping her face in between and turned her head so that she was looking him in his green eyes. Slowly, very slowly, he leaned down to her and kissed her. She put her hands on his waist to try and keep her balance. His kisses always made her knees weak so she needed the extra support. He was the first to pull away.

"Thank you for tonight, Stefan. I had fun." She said smiling up at him.

"So did I." He said leaning towards her once again. This kiss lasted a little longer than the last one and this time, she was the one to pull away, due to the lack of oxygen.

"Good night, Stefan."

"Good night, Elena. Drive home safely." He said watching her walk away from him, down the porch steps and into her car. He didn't go back inside until he couldn't see her car anymore.

He was happy that Elena had come into his and Arianna's life. He was grateful that Arianna had someone else to look up to. They have become really close and he was glad that Arianna approved of his new girlfriend.

**A/N** : I know it's super short. I'm sorry but I had to stop it where I did.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

It's been 6 months. Stefan and Elena have been together for 6 months and they were growing closer and closer every day. Most days they would spend time with Arianna and on the weekends, Bonnie or Caroline would take her for the night so that just the two of them could go out. Stefan would miss Arianna like crazy but he and Elena needed time for themselves, too.

On the days that the three of them would spend together, Arianna would attach herself to Elena. It was nothing new. She's been doing that since Elena started volunteering/working at the Day Care center. Stefan would mock offending until she came over to him. The truth is, Arianna really loved Elena and Stefan was glad for that.

They would fight, but not very often. It was usually about silly little things and then the whole thing would blow over and they would go back to their normal happy selves. Bonnie would sometimes say that they had a perfect relationship but there's no such thing as a perfect relationship, right?

It was beautiful sunny day in the middle of August. Stefan and Elena decided to take Arianna out to the park near the house. Elena was behind Arianna, pushing her on the swing and Stefan was standing in front of Arianna, pushing her back towards Elena. It was a Saturday so luckily Stefan had the day off from his work.

"So how's the job hunting going?" Stefan asked, gently pushing Arianna back towards Elena.

"Actually, I have a job interview." She said looking up in his direction after pushing Arianna back towards him.

"Really? That's great!" He said enthusiastically but her smile instantly disappeared. "What's wrong?" He asked noticing her facial expression.

"It's not here, Stefan." The smile that was plastered on his face disappeared as her words started to sink in.

"Well, where is it?" He asked, again gently pushing Arianna back towards her.

"It's three and a half hours from here." He stopped pushing Arianna and stood up straight.

"How did you find this school?" He asked, slight disappointment creeping its way into his voice.

"The newspaper. They listed schools from all around and that's the only one that I've heard from."

"Hey, why did you stop pushing me?" Arianna's little voice said from her seat on the swing. Elena looked at her apologetically before she started pushing her again.

"Well, I'm happy for you." He said forcing a slight smile onto his lips.

"It's just an interview, Stefan. I probably won't even get hired." She said giving Arianna another slight push.

"They'd be stupid not to hire you, 'Lena." He pushed Arianna back towards her. "When is it?"

"Monday morning. Bonnie's going to drive me out there and wait while I'm in my interview. My car won't make it that far." He nodded his head.

He was happy for her. He knew how bad she wanted to put her degree to use and now she might actually have the opportunity to do so. He didn't want to be selfish with her which is why he didn't ask her how he and Arianna fit into her life if she got this teaching job.

**xxxxxx**

They stayed at the park for another hour. Arianna went from swinging to going down the slide. Sometimes Stefan would wait at the bottom of it with open arms and Elena would go down the slide with her, and other times Elena would wait while Stefan was with her. Everyone who walked by them smiled, before going on their merry way, most likely thinking something about being the perfect family. But they weren't a family. Well, not really, and they weren't perfect.

Stefan took them out for dinner at The Grill and then out for ice cream after. They were sitting on a bench at the Ice Cream Shop and watching what they could see of the sunset. Arianna was cuddled up into Elena's side, eating her ice cream cone.

Stefan or Elena didn't bring up the conversation from earlier in the day. They just wanted to enjoy the rest of their day and when the time came, they would talk about it. After they were done their ice cream, Stefan drove them all back to his house. Every Saturday, Elena would go over and watch movies with them. Per usual, the first one that they would watch was Cinderella. Secretly, Elena hoped that she would outgrow that movie and move on to something else but she still loved it.

Before Stefan put the movie in, he gave Arianna a bath. While he was upstairs, Elena took the time to think. She wanted this job. She didn't spend time and money in school to get a degree to let it go to waste. She wanted to put her degree to use and it just so happens that the only school to call her for an interview was three and a half hours away.

But then there was the nagging thought in the back of her mind that was about Stefan, Arianna, and her friends and family in Mystic Falls. She didn't want to leave anyone. _I won't get hired anyways, so why stress about it_? She thought to herself before footsteps coming down the stairs broke her out of her thoughts.

"Arianna is tired. She wants to know if you can read her a bedtime story before she goes to bed." Stefan said, standing in front of her. She looked up, nodded, and then got to her feet. Stefan followed her up the stairs and into Arianna's room. "Elena's going to read to you like you asked." He said walking over to her in front of her bed. He kissed her on the forehead. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" He asked turning his gaze towards Elena.

"No, go ahead." She said.

"Goodnight, Ari. Love you." He said kissing her on the forehead once again.

"Love you too, daddy." She said smiling up at him. He made his way through the room and out the door. Arianna picked out a book and made her way over the bed.

"How about we brush your hair first?" Elena asked sitting on the bed. Arianna nodded her head and went over to get her brush and handed it to Elena. She sat on her bed in front of Elena, who immediately started to brush her hair.

"Are you and daddy mad at each other?" Arianna asked.

"No, why would you think that?" She asked, trying to brush out a little knot and trying not to tug to tight.

"Cause," She said pausing for a quick second. "You guys didn't talk a lot." She said sadly.

"Don't worry, sweetie. We're not mad at each other." She said and continued to brush her hair. After she was done, she got off the bed and placed the brush where Arianna had picked it up from before. She put Arianna under the covers, grabbed the book that she had picked out, and sat with her back against the wall. Arianna scooted closer to Elena so that she was cuddled up into her side.

Elena started to read the book that she had picked out and every so often, Arianna would interrupt to ask a question or two about the story. Before the end of the story, Elena could hear Arianna lightly snoring. Careful not to wake her, she carefully got out of the bed and rested her head on the pillow. She kissed her head and put the book back on the shelf. She turned off the light and left the room, leaving the door open a little bit.

Elena walked straight into Stefan when she turned away from the room. "Sorry." She whispered and went to walk around him to go back downstairs. He followed behind her. When she went downstairs, she went to where her jacket was hanging on the coat rack.

"You're leaving?" He asked disappointment evident in his voice. She turned around to face him.

"I was going to." He took her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes.

"I don't want you to." She looked away for a quick second. "What's on your mind, 'Lena?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said quickly. He dropped her hands and they fell back to her sides.

"Fine. I can't make you talk about it." He said calmly and turned around and finding a place on the couch. Sighing, she made her way over to the couch and took the seat next to him.

"Don't be mad, Stefan." She said turning his head so that he was looking at her.

"I'm not mad, Elena. I just don't want you to shut me out. We've been together long enough for me to know when something's bothering you." He said grabbing her hands. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

"I know you are." She said taking her hands out of his. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. She pulled away from the hug a minute later and kissed him. After she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his and smiled.

"So are we watching a movie or what? We don't have to watch Cinderella." He said laughing slightly.

"Oh, but I'd hate to break tradition." She said smiling and leaning back against the couch.

"I don't think Ari will mind." He said leaning back against the couch too and turning so that he was looking at her. "We could watch a scary movie."

"So that every time something pops up on screen I hide my face in your shoulder?" She asked laughing. "I don't think so." Bummed that she turned his idea down, he sighed.

"We could watch a chick flick." She said with a huge smile on her face. He was about to turn her down but she gave him that look, the one with the puppy eyes and the puckered out bottom lip and he knew he couldn't say no. Whenever she or Arianna gave him that look, he knew he was done for. He couldn't say no.

"What would you like to watch, babe?" Smiling at what he just called her, because he's never said it before she got off the couch and made her way over to where the DVDs were. She picked one out and put the DVD in the player and shut the lights off and made her way back over to the couch. When she sat down, Stefan's instincts kicked in and he pulled her closer to him, leaving his arm draped around her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder and he hit play on the remote.

**xxxxxx**

At the end of the movie, Elena was crying her eyes out because the main character ended up passing away. Stefan was gently rubbing her back trying to sooth her, telling her it was just a movie. She nodded her head, wiped her tears and looked up towards Stefan.

"How did that not affect you at all?" She asked him.

"I don't cry over movies, 'Lena." He said smirking. Mock offended, she slapped his arm. "But I think it's cute that you do because then I get to calm you down." He said smiling.

"I should get going." She said standing up from the couch.

"You don't have to." He said standing up.

"You want me to spend the night?" She asked raising her eyebrows. That's something she never did because of Arianna.

"Yes. We can just hang out. Maybe watch another movie. Another chick flick." He said smiling down at her.

"You're being awfully persistent." She said smirking.

"You never stay over. I just want to spend time with you." She smiled, gave him another quick kiss and pushed him back onto the couch. Before he had a chance to react, she was already over by his movie collection and picking one out. When the movie was in the player, she made her way back over to the couch and put herself back in the position that she was in before, with her head on his shoulder and his arm draped around her.

**xxxxxx**

The movie wasn't even half way over and Stefan had Elena pinned underneath him on the couch. Her hands were wrapped around his neck and he had one hand holding him up so that he wasn't crushing her while the other traveled from her face down to her stomach and then back to her face again.

"Stef." She managed to get out after he finally released her lips from his. Either he didn't hear her or he was just ignoring her, but he started to leave kisses on her neck and just below her ear. "Stef." She said again and he gently bit her earlobe. "Stefan." She tried again but this time, he lifted his head up. "We shouldn't be doing this."

He got up so he was on his knees and looking down towards her. "Sorry." He said sitting back down against the couch and pretended to watch the movie that was on.

"Hey." She said sitting up and turning his head so he was looking at her. "You didn't let me finish what I was going to say."

"Well what were you going to say?" She leaned closer to him so that her mouth was near his ear.

"Take me upstairs." He picked her up and carried her bridal style up the stairs. He checked on Arianna, seeing that she was sleeping peacefully and made his way down the hall to his room.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

The sun was shining bright through the curtains in Stefan's room causing Elena to stir. Memories of the night before came flooding back to her. It was the first night she spent at Stefan's and it was definitely memorable. It was the first time that they were together and Elena couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips but it quickly faded when she thought of her interview the next day. What if she gets this job? She and Stefan took the next step in their relationship.

Rolling over, she noticed that Stefan's side of the bed was empty. She got out of the bed and was about to leave the room before she realized that she was wearing Stefan's shirt. She grabbed her jeans from the pile of clothes on the floor and put them on quickly before leaving the room.

When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, she smelled something coming from the kitchen. She made her way towards the smell and seen Stefan standing by the stove and Arianna next to him.

"Something smells good." She said walking towards them. She smiled at Arianna when she reached her and wrapped her arms around Stefan's waist, placing a kiss on the back of his neck. "Good morning." She said near his ear.

Smiling, he turned around so he was facing her. "Good morning." He said smiling down at her, kissing her cheek and then placing another one on her lips. He pulled away quickly.

"We made you breakfast, Elena!" Arianna said excitedly.

"It smells yummy." She looked at Arianna. "Why don't you help me set the table?" Arianna nodded and they both went to set the table, leaving Stefan at the stove.

**xxxxxx**

After she ate breakfast, she went home to take a shower and get ready for the day. Thankfully, Jenna's car was gone and so was Jeremy's. She had the house to herself and she was kind of glad. It gave her time to think before she went back over to Stefan's house.

After she showered, dressed and did her hair, she sat on her bed before she left. She had a million thoughts running through her mind. What if she got this job and had to move away? How would it affect her relationship with Stefan? And even Arianna. She would be crushed. Deciding that chances of her getting hired are slim to none, she got up off her bed and grabbed her things to go back over to Stefan's house.

**xxxxxx**

Elena spent the previous day with Stefan and Arianna. She was trying to calm her nerves for her interview and it had seemed to work. Elena's interview was at 11 o'clock that morning and Stefan told her the day before that he would stop by to wish her good luck. He wanted to see her before she left.

When the doorbell rang, she quickly went to answer it knowing who it was. It was 7:30 Monday morning and Caroline had kept Arianna the night before, knowing that Stefan wanted to see Elena before her interview. She had told him that she would bring her to the Day Care with her.

She smiled when she seen his smiling face when she opened the door. She opened it wider to let him through. She shut the door and made her way over to the couch. He followed and sat down next to her.

"Good morning." He said smiling and leaning in to kiss her.

"Good morning." She said after pulling away.

"What time is Bonnie coming to get you?" He asked leaning back against the couch.

"7:45ish." She said leaning her head on his shoulder and grabbing his hand, interlocking their fingers. He brought their hands up to his lips and kissed the top of her hand. She sighed and looked up at him and decided to ask him what had her bothered. "What happens now, Stefan?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happens if I get this job? I mean, I probably won't but what happens if I do? What happens to us? And then there's Ari and I can't bear the thought of her hating me."

"Hey." He said turning her so that she was facing him. "_When_ you get this job," he started adding emphasis on the 'when', "We'll be fine. We'll make it work. And as for Arianna, she could never hate you."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked her voice full of doubt.

"I know we'll be fine because I love you, Elena. And I will do anything to make this work. And I know Arianna could never hate you because she's so attached to you." He said all in one breath. The '_I love you_' came out of his mouth before he even had the chance to stop it. They never told each other this and with her being so quiet and wide eyed he wondered if she had felt the same way he did.

Her face softened a little and her eyes went back to their normal size. "You love me?" She asked with a smile.

He gulped. "Yeah," he started. "I'm in love with you, Elena and I don't care if I have to take Arianna out there every weekend just so we can see you. I want this to work between us."

"I love you too, Stefan. I - " She started to say but was interrupted when she felt his lips on hers. One of his hands went to her lower back and the other went to her cheek. She put her hands on the back of his neck, playing with the little hairs. She pulled away after another minute, realizing that Bonnie would be there soon to pick her up. Smiling, she finished what she was going to say before he interrupted her. "I want us to work, too."

A horn honked and she knew that Bonnie arrived. She grabbed her jacket when she got up and led him outside. He walked her to the car. "Good luck." He said smiling before kissing her again and opening the door to Bonnie's car. After she was in, he closed the door and waved to them before walking off across the street to his car.

**xxxxxx**

"So," Bonnie started as she took an exit on the highway. "Stefan was at your house early." She said looking over at her quickly.

"He wanted to wish me luck." She said smiling.

"So what happens if you get this job?" Bonnie asked curiously.

"We're going to make it work. We both want it to work." She said looking over at Bonnie. She leaned back in her seat and looked out the window. "He told me that he's in love with me." She snuck a glance over at Bonnie and seen that he mouth was in the shape of an 'o'.

"Not that I think I even have to ask but what you did you tell him?" She asked putting her eyes back on the road. Elena smiled.

"That I love him, too."

"I'm going to take a page out of the book of Caroline and ask you if you slept with him yet." Bonnie said keeping her eyes on the road, afraid of Elena's reaction. Elena blushed at the memory of the other night.

"We slept together for the first time Saturday night." Elena said turning to look out the window so that she wouldn't notice how red she is in case she turned to look at her.

"You guys are truly adorable. You know that, right?" Elena smiled and they fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan was nervous. He wanted her to get this job because he knows how much it means to her. She's good with little kids and she would make a fantastic teacher. He knew that. But he couldn't help but wonder if they could both handle being in a long distance relationship. They both want it to work out. They discussed this that morning.

The thought of not being able to see her almost every day, was making him die inside. Now that he had finally moved on with his life and was happy, the thought of his life crumbling made him ache. He didn't want to lose her. He couldn't lose her. But the thought of the possibility of her not being in Mystic Falls was eating at him.

He's in love with her which is why he can't be selfish with her. He didn't want to be one of those boyfriends's who begs their girlfriend to stay. He's not going to be, either. He knows how much this job will mean to her and begging her to stay, if she gets this job, will just make him selfish.

He had to make his relationship work. It will be tough but when you truly love someone, you will do anything in your power to make sure your relationship will stick. He will do whatever he can to make his relationship work but he couldn't keep those nagging thoughts from creeping into his mind.

**xxxxxx**

Bonnie sat in the parking lot while Elena was in her interview. She had been in there for quite some time so she imagined that it was going well. She was happy for Elena and she hoped that she got this job. But she didn't want Stefan or Arianna to be destroyed in the process.

The car door opening broke her out of her thoughts and she looked over to see a gleaming Elena hopping into the car and shutting the door behind her.

"How did it go?" Bonnie asked noticing the huge smile on her face.

"I think it went well. She told me that she would call me before the end of the week." Bonnie started the car and started driving out of the parking lot.

"That's great." Bonnie said happily. "I hope you get it."

"So do I, Bon. This is something that I've wanted forever." She leaned back against the seat and stared out the window.

"I know." Bonnie said and they headed back in the direction of home. Of Mystic Falls.

**A/N** : Short, I know. Boring, I know. Consider this a filler. I'm lacking inspiration due to the end of 4x06. My heart broke.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

It's been four days since Elena had her interview. On the nights that she wasn't with Stefan and Arianna, she was spending time with Jenna, Jeremy, and Anna. It was Friday now and she was at Stefan's house, spending time with Arianna and him. They were sitting at the kitchen table, eating pizza that Stefan ordered. Arianna was carrying the conversation and making them laugh when Elena's phone started ringing. She looked at Stefan before answering and he just nodded his head, signaling that he didn't mind if she answered it. She got up out of her seat and went out onto the back porch.

"Who do ya think she's talking too?" Arianna asked after she swallowed a bite of pizza.

"I don't know, sweetie." Stefan told her even though he had a feeling who it was. He couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach. They finished eating their pizza in silence. Elena was outside for a few more minutes and when she came back inside Stefan turned around in his chair and was greeted with a huge smile.

"I got it." She said walking a little more towards him. He stood up in his chair smiling and walked towards her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so happy for you." He said smiling and pulling away from the hug. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her quickly.

"I leave next week, Stefan." She said after she pulled away, her smile instantly disappearing and looking anywhere but at him. He dropped his hands down by his sides.

"You're leaving?" Arianna said jumping down from her seat. Elena and Stefan both looked at her and seen the tears that were slowly starting to fall down her cheeks. She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs before they had a chance to even say anything.

"I should go check on her." Stefan said after hearing her bedroom door slam shut. He started to walk away when he felt Elena's hand on her wrist.

"Let me." She said when he turned around to face her. He nodded his head and watched her walk out of the room before taking his seat at the kitchen table. He put his elbows on the table and held his face in his hands.

He was happy for her. Extremely happy for her. But deep down, he was hurt. Hurt over the fact that she was going to be moving three hours away. Hurt from the fact that they were going to be going from seeing each other every day, even if it was only for five minutes, to only seeing each other every weekend. If that's what Elena wanted to do, of course.

He was thinking selfishly. Elena had helped him. She helped him move on from Rebekah's death and get on with his life. Things were going great for him. And now, he couldn't help but think that his entire world is coming crashing down. He wanted her to get this job. And now that she did, he didn't know how he was going to let her go. _Everything will be fine_. He kept telling himself.

**xxxxxx**

Elena found Arianna sitting in the middle of her bed, holding one of her teddy bears close to her chest and gently rocking with tears still falling down her face. Elena walked further into her room and sat on her bed facing her. Elena took her hands and started wiping the tears off of her face.

"W-why are you l-leaving?" Arianna said in between sobs. Elena pulled Arianna closer and wrapped her in a tight hug. She started rubbing her back to try and soothe her.

"I have to work, Arianna." Elena said trying to keep herself from crying.

"I wish you could work here." Arianna said burying her face in Elena's shirt, soaking it.

"I know, Ari." She said rubbing slow circles on her back to try to calm her down. "I wish I could, too." They were silent for a moment before Arianna spoke again.

"Elena?" She asked removing her head from its resting place then sitting straight up so she could look Elena in the eyes. "Are you going to forget me and daddy?"

Elena was taken back at first. After a moment, she finally answered. "I love you and your daddy very much." She said removing the hair out of Arianna's face. "I'm still going to see you."

"Promise?" She said sniffling. Elena leaned a little towards her, placing a feather light kiss on her forehead.

"I promise." She said smiling. "Now let's go back downstairs to your dad." Arianna smiled and hopped out of the bed, grabbed Elena's hand and walked out the door to go back downstairs.

**xxxxxx**

Elena helped Stefan put Arianna to bed later that night. He stayed in the room while Elena read to her and when she fell asleep, they quietly snuck out.

"So are you staying for a little while or are you going home?" Stefan asked her when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I can stay for a while longer." She said smiling up at him.

"What do you want to do?"

"Can we just hang out for a while? You know, just talk?" He nodded his head and made his way to the couch. She followed suit and sat next to him, turning so that she was facing him.

"Why so serious?" He asked joking about the serious look she had on her face.

"It's just something I said to Arianna earlier."

"Well, what did you say to her?" He asked, leaning his back against the couch and turning so that he was facing her.

"Well, I promised her that I would still see her." She said leaning back and placing her head on his shoulder.

"So what's the problem?" He asked while grabbing her hand off its place on his chest and interlocking their fingers.

"What if I don't get to? What if something happens and I don't get to see either one of you? Taking this job was a mistake." She said sadly.

"Hey," he said turning slightly so he could see her. "This job, it's not a mistake, Elena. When you came back inside from that phone call, you should have seen the look on your face. You were so happy."

"Don't you want me to stay?" She asked while the back of her eyes were slowly starting to water up.

"Of course I want you to stay. But I'm not going to ask you to. I'm not going to be selfish with you, Elena. I can't be. You got your dream job and who am I to ask you not to take it because of me and my daughter? We'll still manage to see you and spend time with you."

"But - " She started saying but he cut her off by placing his index finger on her lips to quiet her.

"No buts. By this time next week, you're going to be starting another chapter of your life. And I am so happy for you. Yes, when you got that phone call, I felt like my heart was in the pit of my stomach. It hurts knowing that we're going to go from seeing each other every day to only seeing each other over the weekends. But we're still going to see each other and be together."

"Okay." She said before kissing him and leaning her head back on his shoulder. They sat on the couch for a while just talking after. Neither one of them bringing up the subject of her leaving again.

It was going to be hard. Being in a long distance relationship can really suck. But they were both willing to try because they aren't ready to give up on their relationship because of distance. No matter what, they would both try to make their relationship work.

**xxxxxx**

"St-stop, Stefan!" Elena said through giggles. After their somewhat emotional conversation earlier, they talked about random things. But now Stefan decided he wanted to tickle her. "Stef." She said again through her giggles thinking this time that it was going to make him stop. She was wrong. "I'm going to pee my pants if you don't stop." She said through giggles again. This time, he stopped. "Got chya." She said jumping off the couch and running out of the living room and into the kitchen. Stefan gave her a head start before he ran after her. He found her on the opposite side of the kitchen island with a smile on her face.

"I want to call a truce." She said still smiling.

"I don't believe you." She gave him that look, the one with the droopy eyes and pouty lower lip and bashed her eye lashes at him, knowing that now he couldn't say no. "Fine." He walked around the kitchen island and pulled her into a hug. When she put her arms around him, she pushed the tomato that she had been holding behind her back, onto his back.

When Stefan pulled away, his mouth was in an 'o'. "You did not just do that." He said with a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh, but I did." She said laughing. Stefan walked away from her and in the direction of the laundry room. Before he reached the room, he took his shirt off, giving her a view of his back. When he returned out of the laundry room, he was left in his pair of sweats and socks. This time, it was Elena who had an 'o' shape on her mouth. She was looking him up and down, appreciating the view of her very sculpted and muscled boyfriend.

"What's the matter, Elena?" He asked walking in her direction.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." She said breaking out of the trance that she was in.

"Hm. Okay then." He picked up the tomato off the floor and discarded it in the trash can and made his way back into the living room.

"Aren't you going to put a shirt on?" She said following behind him.

"Nah. I'm just going to sit here on the couch and relax."

"You need to put a shirt on, Stefan." She said putting her hands on her hips and standing in front of him.

"Why is that, Elena?" He asked smirking up at her.

"Be-because." She said stammering. "You win." She said unable to finish her sentence. Satisfied, Stefan stood up smiling.

"Stefan 1, Elena 0." He said smirking.

"I'm sorry I squished a tomato on your back." She said when he came over to where she was standing near the coffee table.

"I'm sorry for tickling you." He said pulling her into a hug and nestling his head in the crook of her neck.

"It's okay." She said smiling and pulling away from his embrace. "I like seeing this side of you. You know the playful side. Plus it works out in my favor if you end up being shirtless." She winked at him and took a seat on the couch. Laughing, he settled in next to her and turned on the TV to find something for them to watch.

**A/N** : I feel like I had to do something fluffyish for Stefan and Elena. I'm still not over 4x06 honestly and just wanted them to have a happy moment.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

The week flew by in a blur and before Elena knew it, it was Thursday night. She was leaving the next afternoon. Originally, she had planned to spend half the day with Stefan and Arianna and the other half with Jenna and Jeremy but they had both told her to just spend the day with Stefan and Arianna. When she told him, he took the day off of work.

Earlier in the week, Elena had found an apartment in the newspaper. Because she was leaving on such short notice, she took the first place that she thought was reasonable for rent and called. Her stuff had been moved earlier in the day by a moving van and the only thing she had to take with her tomorrow was her bag that she left for herself for the night.

Elena was waiting for Stefan and lost in her thoughts about how much her life was going to change. Things would be different now. She was starting a brand new life in a brand new city where she knew absolutely no one. It was going to be hard for her to be in a new town and three hours away from her boyfriend and family. She heard a knock on the door which broke her out of her trance.

When she opened the door, she immediately smiled when she seen two of her favorite people standing on the opposite side. "Come on, Elena! Let's go!" Arianna said excitedly. Elena smiled and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.

"So, where are we going?" Elena asked Stefan after Arianna grabbed on to her hand. They made their way to his car that was parked in front of her house.

"Well, I figured we could take you out for breakfast. A 'Congratulations on your new job celebration' breakfast. Just the three of us." Elena smiled and opened up the back door to help Arianna into her seat. After she was settled, Elena got into the front seat.

"You don't have to do anything for me." She said looking over at him while she buckled her seat belt.

"No. But I want to." He said smiling at her. "We want to." He leaned over and kissed her quickly before starting the car and driving off. The drive was quiet, but peaceful. About half way through, Stefan took one hand off the wheel and grabbed hers and rubbed his thumb over the top. She looked over and smiled at him before turning her head and looking out the window again. She was determined to not think about leaving tomorrow and enjoying her day with them.

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a small café outside of town. After Stefan shut the car off, Elena got out and helped Arianna out of her seat. "I hope you like this place." He said grabbing her hand in his. "I used to come here when I was teenager. Just to get away from the town and to think."

"I'm sure it'll be great." Elena said smiling in his direction. When they got inside and were settled in their seats, the waitress came over and took their orders for drinks. When she came back with the drinks, they told her what they wanted to eat. When she left, Arianna lead most of the conversation. She went from talking about her favorite cartoons to which doll she wants next but then she got serious.

"I'm gonna miss you, Elena." She said lowering her head a little. Stefan put his hand on her back and pulled her a little closer to him.

"I'm still going to see you, Ari. And I will call everyday to talk to you." She said smiling and secretly hoping to change the mood back to happy and playful. Elena could tell that what she said helped to lighten the mood a little bit. The waitress came back over with their plates and they dug in.

**xxxxxx**

"That place was delicious, Stefan. Thank you." Elena said after she was settled in the car.

"You're welcome." He said smiling. He started the car and pulled out the parking space before speaking again. "I figured after we could just hang around the house or outside. I just want you to have a relaxing day before tomorrow." She smiled after he said that.

"That sounds perfect." She saw the corner of his lips turn into a slight smile.

"And then tonight I can cook you dinner." He said glancing over at her quickly and then averted his gaze back to the road.

"You don't always have to cook for me you know." She said in return. She can't deny that she loved when he cooked for her but she felt bad because he was always doing that. She needed serious help when it came to being in the kitchen.

"But I like to." He said smiling. "And Arianna can be my little helper. Is that okay with you, Ari?" He said looking into the rearview mirror. He seen the delighted expression on her face and knew that she was okay with that.

"And then we can watch a movie!" She said from the backseat. "Cinderella!"

"It's not Saturday, though." Elena said, turning around to face her. "I thought you liked watching that with your dad on Saturday nights."

"But you're not going to be here. So I want to watch it tonight." Arianna had tears forming in the back of her eyes. Elena knew the minute that she started crying, that she would probably cry to so she had to keep that from happening.

"We can watch it." Elena smiled at her before turning back around in her seat and looking out the window.

**xxxxxx**

The first thing Arianna did was run upstairs into her room to put on her bathing suit. Stefan told her that he would fill up her little pool for her because the weather had gotten warmer. While Stefan was out back filling up the pool, Elena was in the kitchen making lemonade for the three of them. Arianna came running through the kitchen and out the back door before Elena had a chance to say anything to her.

Elena poured three cups of lemonade and made her way outside to set the glasses down. She had to make two separate trips into the kitchen. She was clumsy and it didn't want to break a glass. When she made it to the back deck again, she sat in one of the chairs and watched Stefan when he was setting up Arianna's kiddie pool.

"Hurry up, daddy!" Arianna said clearly impatient. She wanted to be in that pool and quickly.

"It's almost filled, sweetie." He said. When the pool was finally set up and filled, he shut the water off on the hose and walked up the deck steps and sat in the chair next to Elena. They both watched Arianna splashing the water clearly enjoying herself and happy that the pool was finally set up. "What's on your mind?" He asked. He could always tell when something was bothering her. He knew her so well.

"I didn't want to think about tomorrow but I am." She said honestly. There was no point in lying. "Things are going to change. I just know it." She took a sip of her lemonade before looking over at him. "And honestly, I'm scared." He got out of his chair and moved it closer to hers, as close as he could be, and sat back down.

"What are you scared about?" He looked away to check on Arianna quickly before turning his attention back to Elena.

"I'm scared that I'm going to screw everything up. This teaching job," She paused for a second before saying the last thing that was on her mind. "And us. And I don't want that to happen."

"Hey," She had turned her gaze away from him afraid that she might break and cry. "Elena." When he said her name, she looked at him again. "You will be fine. You're going to be the best damn teacher there is. There's no doubt in my mind about that." He kissed her cheek quickly. "And us, you won't screw us up, either. We'll take it one day at a time but at the end of the day, I know that we're going to make it. I love you too damn much to let distance come between us." She could tell that he meant every word that he said just by looking into his eyes. They were full of love.

She leaned closer to him and rested her forehead against his. "Thank you." She said, looking directly into his eyes.

"For what?" He asked, kissing her cheek again.

"For being you. And for saying that. You always know the right words to say." She smiled before kissing the corner of his mouth. "And for the record, I love you too damn much, too." She smiled again before finally placing a kiss on his lips.

"Ewwie. You do that too much." Arianna said from her kiddie pool. They both pulled away laughing because she wasn't lying. They do kiss a lot. Arianna's attention went back to splashing the water in the matter of seconds. Stefan and Elena leaned back in their chairs, enjoying the fresh air, each other's company and watching Arianna play in the pool.

**xxxxxx**

Just like Stefan said he would, later that night, he made her dinner and Arianna helped. It was simple. Pasta and sauce with a salad, but it was still delicious. Much to his dismay, she cleaned up the mess claiming that it was the least that she could do after he gave her the perfect day. After they sat through Cinderella with Arianna and she had a bath, Elena brushed her hair, read her a bedtime story and put her to bed.

They were sitting on the couch watching a movie. Elena was cuddled up into Stefan's side with her arm resting across his stomach. He was running one of his hands through her hair and the other was traveling up and down her arm. Every so often, he would kiss the top of her head. It was relaxing for her, just being cuddled up next to him. To her, this was a perfect ending, to a perfect day.

**A/N** : To those of you who are following me on Twitter, you already know my feelings about 4x07. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. =D And I know it's taking me days to update and I'm sorry about that. I work a lot. =/


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena woke up the next morning with her back against Stefan's chest and his arms were draped across her waist. She could feel him pressing light kisses to the back of her neck signaling that he was awake. The reality of what she was doing that day had hit her and she couldn't help the sob that escaped from her mouth.

Even though he knew what the problem was, he decided to ask her anyways. "What's wrong, babe?" He placed another kiss on her neck. She turned her head a little so that she could see him.

"You know." She replied back to him and turning her head away again so she was looking at the wall. She leaned further against his chest not wanting to move. She wanted to savor the moment for as long as she could.

He rolled them over so that he was on top of her with both his hand the sides of her head. "It's okay to be scared, 'Lena." He kissed her forehead. "But just remember that you have everyone supporting you." He kissed her cheek. "And even though we won't be in the same state or town, we're still going to be here for you. Supporting you." He kissed her other cheek. "And we all love you and are so proud of you, 'Lena." He kissed the corners of her mouth. "And I will drive out there if you ever need me to." He kissed her lips.

Everything he said was true. She has the support of her friends, family, and her boyfriend and his daughter. And he was willing if she ever needs him to, to drive out there. Even if it was because of a stupid reason, he would go to see her. To help her. Because that's how much he loves her.

"We should stop before Arianna comes in here." Elena said after breaking away from the kiss and moving her head to the side. He started kissing the side of her neck and below her ear.

"It's only 5:30." He said in protest after he stopped his assault on her neck and checked the time on his phone that was on his bedside table. He kissed her again and felt her wrap her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Soon enough, Elena gave in and let him take control.

**xxxxxx**

Panting heavily, he collapsed on top of her but rolled off quickly before he crushed her. Quickly, she cuddled up into him, resting her head on his bare chest and drawing things on his chest with her finger. He was rubbing his hand on her back. She planted a light kiss on his chest before looking up at him.

"I love you, ya know." She said smiling up at him. She leaned up a little bit so she can give him a proper kiss on the lips.

"I know. I love you, too." He said smiling. "But now we really should get up before Arianna wakes up and comes in." He kissed her once more before sitting up.

"Okay." Elena got out of bed and put on Stefan's shirt quickly and got clothes out of the drawer that had her clothes in it for when she spent the night. "I'm going to shower." She left the room and went into the bathroom. Stefan got out of bed and quickly got dressed before leaving his room and going to check on Arianna.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan had breakfast made by the time Elena came downstairs. The table was set, coffee was poured, and pancakes were served. "I helped daddy make breakfast." Arianna said coming around the kitchen island and attaching herself to Elena's leg.

"I bet it's delicious." Elena said smiling. She was going to miss seeing her every day. Truthfully, seeing Arianna and Stefan and seeing how good of a father he is, really did make her day. Knowing that he was going to be with her before she left made her heart ache a little. She didn't want to have to say goodbye to him. She almost wished that he hadn't taken the day off to see her off.

"It tastes yummy, too. Daddy told me that I'm a good helper." Arianna smiled up at her before taking her hand and leading her towards her seat at the kitchen table.

"That's right you are." Stefan said taking his seat at the table. Arianna's face lit up and she took her seat next to her father.

**xxxxxx**

After they ate and everything was cleaned up, Stefan drove Elena to the Day Care so that she could say good bye to her two best friends. After a long and very emotional good bye, she had to leave and told them that they could always come visit her and vice versa. Plus they could always call the each other. After they left the Day Care, they made their way to Elena's house so that she could say good bye to her Aunt Jenna and her brother.

"You're going to do great." Jenna said pulling her into a tight hug and trying not to cry. She knew that once she cried, Elena would cry.

"Thanks, Jenna. For everything." Elena said pulling away from the hug. She looked over at her brother and pulled him into a hug.

"Good luck, Elena." He said pulling away from her. She picked up her duffel bag that held the rest of her belongings. "I'll call you when I get there. I love you both."

"Love you, too." They both said in unison. They watched her walk off the porch and down towards her car where Stefan was leaning against it and Arianna at his side before closing the door.

"So," Stefan said awkwardly. She looked away knowing that she was going to crack. _Why is saying bye to him so much harder than saying bye to everyone else?_ She thought to herself. "Remember, this isn't good bye, 'Lena." He pulled her into his chest. The minute her head hit his muscular chest, she could feel the held up tears trying to break loose. There was no point in trying to keep them in anymore so she decided to let them flow. "Hey," He said rubbing her back. "Stop crying. Everything will be fine."

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt in her hands and continued to sob. "Don't cry, Elena." Arianna said yanking on the bottom of her shirt. Elena finally released his shirt and bent so that she was eye level with Arianna. "I'm crying because I'm going to miss you guys so much." Arianna wrapped her arms around Elena's neck so she could hug her.

"I'm going to miss you." Arianna said through choked out sobs. This was exactly what Elena didn't want. Her crying. "I love you, Elena." Arianna said after pulling away from the hug. Elena looked at her and smiled. Elena pushed the strands of her that were in Arianna's face behind her ears. "I love you, too." She said smiling. "Once everything's set up you guys can come over. I promise."

"Can I bring Cinderella?" Arianna asked wiping away the excess tears off her cheeks. It was her favorite movie. How could Elena tell her no?

"Of course you can." She said smiling before standing straight up again. Stefan was still leaning against the car and watched the whole thing take place. Arianna had grown so close to Elena and the last thing that Stefan wanted was for Arianna to start growing to hate Elena because of not being able to see her so often. It would break his heart. And Elena's.

Elena ended up back in his arms and Arianna was leaning into Stefan's side. "It's not good bye." He reminded her. She nodded her head. She knew that she had to leave but wanted to cherish this moment for a little longer. Stefan planted a kiss on the top of her head. She lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

"It's not good bye." She repeated his words before kissing the underneath of his chin. He smiled, too her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"It will never be good bye." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you." He said in a whisper. She smiled up at him and took his face in her hands and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you." She whispered back to him before placing a light kiss on his lips. She never wanted the moment to end. As much as she wanted to be a teacher, it sucked that she had to move three hours away. That's not what she wanted at all. Deep down, she wanted him to ask her to stay. To beg her. But he would never do that. He told her before that he can't be selfish with her. He won't be.

Elena was the one to break the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm going to miss you. So much." He said looking in her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you, too. Both of you." She said directing her attention to Arianna and placing her hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Arianna's eyes were glistening and she was on the verge of tears. "When you come visit, I have a surprise for you." Arianna's eyes grew wide.

"Wow! I love surprises!" She said excitedly. "Daddy did you hear that? Elena has a surprise for me when we visit! Let's go visit now!" Stefan and Elena laughed lightly.

"We have to let Elena get settled in, sweetie. Maybe next weekend if she's settled we can go there." Arianna looked up at her expectantly.

"You can come over next weekend. Make sure you bring Cinderella." Elena smiled at her before picking her up so she was resting on her hip. Arianna took this to her advantage and squeeze Elena into another hug.

"How many days before I can go over?" Arianna asked after releasing her hold and looking at her father waiting for his answer.

"Seven if we go over on Friday and eight if we go on Saturday."

"Well seven is less than eight but seven days is still a long time away." She looked at Elena sadly.

"The week will go by quickly. Don't worry." Elena kissed her on her forehead before placing her back on her feet.

"I should be going." She said sadly, grabbing both of his hands into hers.

"I know." He said sadly. "I wish you didn't have to move." There. He said it. Something that's been nagging at him for the past week. He didn't want to say it but it just came out. He couldn't help it. He looked like he was on the verge of tears now.

"I wish I didn't have to, either." She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him to her in another hug. "But we will see each other. We'll take it one day at a time but we'll make it." She felt him nod against the side of her head.

"I love you." He kissed the side of her head.

"I love you, too." She pulled away from the hug before kissing him again. After a few seconds she pulled away. "I really need to leave now."

"Okay. Call us when you get there. We love you." He stepped away from the car and she hugged both Arianna and him once more.

"I will. I love you both." She said before picking up her bag off the ground and getting in the driver's seat. She waved to them once more before driving off, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

**A/N** : I've officially decided that TVD will be the death of me.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena spent the weekend unpacking and setting up her apartment. She called Stefan every night before she went to bed to say good night to him and Arianna. It's only been a couple of days and she missed everyone. Being three hours away from everyone was surely going to torture her.

Now that it was Monday morning, Elena's nerves were getting the better of her. She was up most of the night thinking. _What if I fail? What if they don't like me? I don't want to be a huge failure and have everyone at home laughing at me because I didn't make it._ She didn't know how she could handle it if these things happened.

Sighing, she got up from the couch and made her way to the kitchen to make herself a coffee. She still had an hour before she had to leave. While waiting for her coffee, she decided to call Stefan. She really hoped that he would be able to help calm the butterflies that were in her stomach.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said when he answered on the second ring. His compliments always made her blush. When they were together and he complimented her and she blushed, he always laughed a little which made her blush more. She was just happy that he wasn't able to see the effect his compliment had on her, even though she was pretty sure he knew, anyways.

"Good morning, babe." She said back to him while making her coffee and sitting at the table. "I miss you." She said sighing. She heard him let out a slight sigh on the other end of the phone.

"I miss you, too." He said in response. "But we can see you this weekend if you want." He smiled, hoping that she would say yes for him and Arianna to go out and visit her over the weekend. Arianna missed Elena just as much he did.

"I would love that." She said smiling. She had her surprise for Arianna and she was sure that she would love it. Well, she hoped that she would.

"Good." He smiled. He was extremely happy that she had agreed. She's only been gone for a couple of days but he thought he was going to go crazy with how much he missed her. He missed spending Saturday night with Elena and Arianna. It was tradition before but Elena was added into the mix. And they both enjoyed that. "You're nervous aren't you?" He asked her.

She nodded her head as if he was standing in front of her and could see her. "Yes." She replied sadly. She figured she would tell him her fears. There's no harm in that. "What if I fail?" She asked him. She heard him laugh on the other end. "Hey, it's not funny. I'm serious." She said in defense.

"I know you're serious. That's why I'm laughing." He paused for a second. "You're not going to fail, babe. You're going to be the best teacher that that school has ever had."

"But what if they don't like me?" She asked sadly. She didn't know which one was worse. Having the students hate her or failing miserably at her job.

"What's not to like? You have an amazing personality and I see the way that you are with Arianna and how you were with the other kids at the day care. You're amazing with kids and your students will love you. I promise." He said back to her. She let out a sigh of relief.

"How do you always know the right things to say?" She asked while a small smile played across her lips. It's true. He always knew the right things to say. That's one thing that she loved about him. She could be sad and he could completely change her mood with one small sentence.

"I'm just that awesome." He said laughing. She sighed loudly.

"Cocky much?" She asked smiling. Her attitude had completely changed just by talking to him for only a few minutes. She heard him laugh on the other end. After promising to call him after she got home, they exchanged 'I love you' and hung up. Elena had to get ready and head out.

**xxxxxx**

Elena made it to the school and into the class room with a few minutes to spare. Because it was her first day, there was going to be someone in the room with her 'showing her the ropes'.

"Welcome Miss. Gilbert." The other teacher said when she came into the classroom, smiling. "My name is Christine Brown." She walked over to Elena as she properly introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you."

"Like wise." Elena said smiling while shaking her hand. She felt the butterflies in her stomach return so she thought of the words that Stefan had told her earlier that morning and instantly they were gone. Mrs. Brown told Elena the basics before the classroom became filled with little kids.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting towards Elena and wondering how her day was going. He knew that his words had the desired effect that he had wanted them to have earlier that morning and he hoped that the effect would last all day. He didn't want her to be nervous. He knew that she would be do great and that her student's will love her. How could they not?

The one thing that he was upset about was that Elena wasn't there to see Arianna off on her first day of Kindergarten. He didn't want to be upset but he knew how much it meant to Arianna to have her with them. Arianna had really wanted Elena to be there to see her off on her first day of school. She cried and cried but eventually Stefan was able to calm her down when he told her where they were going that upcoming weekend. After that, her mood was fine.

Stefan's thoughts trailed back to Elena. He knew he was going to miss her. He just never imagined how much. He missed her so much that it was like he could feel his heart actually hurt inside his chest. He was happiest when he was around Elena and when he seen how she was with Arianna, it's like his happiness grew. He loved them both so much.

But then the thought of distance came into his mind. They both said that they would make their relationship work. But what happens if it becomes too much? The last thing that he wants is for them to grow apart. He has Arianna to think of, too when it comes to his relationship. How close Arianna grew to Elena, how much she loved her. She would be devastated if something happened. _Stop thinking negatively._ He thought to himself. _It's just distance._

**xxxxxx**

When the day was over, Elena left the school and made her way to her car with a huge smile on her face. She loved it. Every minute of it. And it seemed to her that her student's really liked her. Granted it was only the first day of school so things could change but she was going to think positive.

Before she started the car, she took her phone out of her pocket and called Stefan not wanting to wait until she got home.

"Baby," He said on the first ring, smiling. "How did it go?" She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"It was…" She paused for a second trying to think of the right word. "Amazing. It was amazing." She said still smiling. "I love it. Every minute of it. It's wonderful." She said in a rush.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He said smiling. Because he was happy that she enjoyed it. He was happy that she was happy.

"And I think that the student's like me." She said happily into the phone, with the same smile plastered on to her face.

"I knew they would." He said. "Hey, someone wants to talk to you." He meant Arianna.

"Okay."

"Elena!" She heard a little voice say. "Daddy says we're gonna go to your house!" She said excitedly, squealing into the phone.

"Yes, you are." Elena said matching Arianna's excitement. She was so attached to Arianna and hearing her excitement made her happy.

"We finger painted at school today!" She said changing the subject quickly. Elena felt a pang of sadness wash over her when she realized that she had missed Arianna's first day of school. Truth be told, she had wanted to be there for her but knew that she couldn't start her new job a day late.

"We did, too!" Elena said matching Arianna's excitement again. _Is it bad of me to wish the week to go by fast just so I can see these two again?_ She thought to herself.

"I can't wait to see you!" Arianna was quick to change the subject again.

"I can't wait to see you and your dad again." She truthfully answered with a smile on her face.

"Daddy wants to talk you again. Love you, Elena!"

"Love you, too." Elena said and she could hear the phone being passed back over to Stefan and smiled when she heard him speak again.

**A/N** : Well Elena had her first day on the job. And she loved it. Thoughts? Also I am going to TRY and update again this week. It's kind of hard because I really do work a lot and by the time I get home I'm too tired to do anything.


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Stelena fluff in this chapter. :D

**xxxxxx**

The week flew by quickly and before Elena knew it, Friday had come and the school day was over. Elena went out the previous day to buy something for dinner for Friday. It was Stefan and Arianna's first night staying over at her new apartment. She wanted them to enjoy themselves while they were there for the weekend. Plus, Stefan always cooks for her. She figured it was about time that she cooked for them. She just hoped that it wasn't a major fail.

She was in the kitchen preparing the dinner when there was a knock on the door. She put the pot that she was holding back on the stove and went to answer the door. She was instantly greeted with bright green eyes and smiling Arianna staring up at her.

Elena opened the door wider to let them in. After giving Elena a quick hug, Arianna went to explore the apartment leaving Stefan and Elena standing in the living room. After walking further into the room and looking around quickly, he put the bags that he had for himself and Arianna in the corner next to the couch and pulled her into a hug after she shut the door.

"I missed you." Stefan whispered into her ear before kissing her cheek. For him, Friday couldn't come fast enough. It seemed like the entire week had dragged on because he couldn't wait to see her again. He couldn't wait to hold her again.

"I missed you, too." She said pulling away from the hug and smiling up at him quickly before pulling on the collar of his shirt and pulling his head down for a quick kiss.

"I went an entire week without that." Stefan said after he pulled away. She smiled up at him before taking his hand and bringing him into the kitchen. "Is something burning?" He asked her.

"Shit." Elena grabbed an oven mit and opened the oven door, quickly taking out the pan of chicken that she had in there. "This is why I don't cook." She laughed nervously and rubbed her hands over her face. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I wanted to do something nice for you and Arianna." She felt Stefan wrap his arms around her waist from behind. He nuzzled her neck before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry about it, babe." Stefan said as Arianna came running around the corner, her pigtails bouncing and a big smile on her face.

"Daddy, daddy!" She screamed as she came to a stop in front of Stefan and Elena. She had something behind her back. "Look what I found!" She took her hands from behind her back and showed off a teddy bear that Elena had gotten for her. That was part of her surprise but she knew that if she had found the teddy bear then she had already found out what her surprise was.

"Oh that's a nice little teddy bear." He said moving away from Elena a little bit. "Where'd you get it?" He asked.

"In this room!" She said grabbing his hand and pulling him in the direction of the room. Elena shut off the stove before following them in the direction of the room. Elena had a spare bedroom in her apartment and decided that she would use that for Arianna's bedroom for when her and Stefan stayed over.

"You did this for her?" Stefan asked smiling in Elena's direction. The room was decorated in different pinks and she had a bed set up in the middle of the room that had a matching set of dressers and book shelf in the corner. It had all of Arianna's favorite books and the bed was lined with different stuffed animals.

"Yeah, well I figured that she would need a place to sleep for when you two are over and the room was a spare so I thought why not decorate it for Ari?" Stefan wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him and he kissed the side of her head. "Do you think she likes it?" Elena asked quietly while they watched Arianna take out toys from the toy box that Elena had bought for her. She had filled it up with different dolls knowing that was Arianna's favorite type of toy.

"She loves it." He directed his attention away from his daughter and looked at Elena. "And I love you for doing this for her." He said before kissing her cheek yet again.

"I'd hate to ruin this moment but what are we going to do about dinner? I completely ruined it. And I'm starving." She said and her stomach started making noises.

"We can order pizza." He said and he looked over at Arianna to see if she approved or not. When she nodded her head and went back to playing with her dolls, they left the room and went back into the kitchen. Elena cleaned up the mess while Stefan was on the phone ordering the pizza.

When Stefan was hung up, he wrapped his arms around Elena's waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Have I told you how much I missed you?" She smiled and leaned back against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder and placing her hands on top of his that were laying on her stomach.

"Not nearly enough." She said giggling as he kissed her neck. She felt his breath on her neck when he answered her.

"I missed you." He kissed her neck again. "So much." He kissed her cheek. She turned around in his arms so that they were face to face. He rested his forehead against hers and kissed the tip of her nose.

"Do you really think Arianna likes her room?" She asked. She had been afraid the whole week that Arianna wouldn't like her room. Her room was the one room that she cared the most about when it came to decorating. Stefan smirked before kissing her on the tip of her nose again.

"Yes. I do. Her face was lit up like a Christmas tree when she was in there." Elena smiled and gave out a sigh of relief. "Were you afraid that she didn't?" Elena took her hands off his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yeah. I was nervous all week that she wouldn't like it. But I'm glad that she does." She said smiling before pulling him down to kiss him again.

**xxxxxx**

After they had finished their pizza and the mess was cleaned up and Arianna had a bath and was in her pajamas, they decided to watch a movie. They were watching a cartoon movie for Arianna who was sitting on Stefan's lap. Elena was curled up into his side and his arm was draped around her shoulder and his fingers were slowly going up and down her arm. Her head was resting on his shoulder and she was content.

She never wanted the moment to end. As much as she loved her life and her new job, she loved spending time with Stefan and Arianna. She loved them both so much and doesn't want anything to come to tear them apart. It would crush Arianna. And it would crush Elena. But for now, she wanted to live in the moment. For right now, she wasn't going to worry about the future.

Before the movie was over, Elena heard a soft snoring and she automatically knew that Arianna had fallen asleep. Whenever they would watch a movie with Arianna, she was asleep half way through. It even happened when they would watch Cinderella.

"Let me put her into her bed." Stefan said quietly. "I'll help you." Elena got up from her seat on the couch and led the way into Arianna's bedroom. By the time Stefan made it to the bed, Elena already had the covers undone so that Stefan could just lay her in bed. After she was covered up they both gave her a kiss good night before walking out of the room and going back into the living room.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Stefan asked her after they sat down on the couch. Elena shrugged her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck.

"How about you give me a massage?" She looked over at him and gave him the look that she knew that he couldn't resist.

"Okay, lay on your stomach." She did as she was instructed and he started rubbing her neck and her shoulders and he slowly made his way down her back.

"This feels so good." She mumbled. He worked at her back a little bit longer before making his way back up to her shoulders. After a few more minutes, he asked her if she felt better and when she nodded her head, he smiled to himself before sitting back down on the couch. She turned around on her back and looked up at him with a pleased expression on her face.

Stefan smirked at her before grabbing her hands and pulling her up gently so that they were sitting face to face on the couch. "You're amazing. You know that?" Elena said to Stefan as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"So I've been told." He told her in a playful matter. She laughed and lightly slapped his arm before putting her hands on his cheeks and kissing him, caressing his skin with her thumbs.

"How'd I get so lucky with you?" She asked him after she pulled away from the kiss and she resting her forehead against his again.

"You're just lucky I guess." He said smiling. He didn't want his mind to be crowded with thoughts of Rebekah and how if she was alive then he and Elena wouldn't be together right now.

"I love you." She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. "So much." She finished her sentence.

"I love you, too." He smiled before kissing her and picking her up and making their way into her bedroom.

**A/N** : I am so so so so sorry that it took me forever to get this up. I hope the Stelena fluffiness made up for the lack of updates. Please tell me what you think!


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

Plenty of Stelena fluff in this one, too. =D

**xxxxxx**

Elena woke up with a smile on her face on Saturday morning. She felt Stefans arms wrapped around her waist and she smiled when she felt him kiss the back of her neck.

"What time is it?" Elena asked groggily and not wanting to move out of her spot to look at her phone. Stefan took his arm off of her and she instantly missed the feeling of having his arm wrapped around her.

"It's almost 7." He said wrapping his arm back around her and pulling her closer to him, kissing her on the cheek in the process. "I could stay like this forever." He whispered in her ear and she could feel his smile against her cheek. She turned around so she was facing him and grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers and kissing the top of his hand.

"Do you ever think about our future, Stefan?" Elena asked him. It was random. But she was thinking it and she couldn't help but say it. It just slipped out. But from the smile on his face, and the twinkle in his eye, she could tell that he clearly has.

"Of course." He lifted her hand to his lips so that he could place a gentle kiss on the top. "I think about it all the time. I can picture you walking down the aisle in a beautiful wedding dress, in a church full of your friends. Flowers on the sides of the benches and a flower girl throwing lilies all over the floor." Elena could feel the smile spreading.

"Do you think it's too soon in our relationship to be talking about things like this?" She hoped not. She wanted to see where he wanted their relationship to go. She wanted to know if he thought they had a future in the long run.

"Not at all." He smiled. "We need to know these things. And I want you to know that I do want a future with you. But there's this thought in the back of my mind." Elena felt like her heart dropped when he said that. "I love you, Elena. So much. You know that. But there's this thought in the back of my mind that always creeps up and it's about Rebekah."

"I want a future with you too, Stefan." She said smiling. "And just so you know, it's okay to miss her, Stefan. You always will. You were married to her. And you have a daughter with her. So you're going to be seeing her every day in Arianna."

"I just don't want people to think that I have forgotten about her and that you're replacing her." Stefan said sadly. "I just don't want her to be ashamed."

"She won't be. She wouldn't want you to dwell on the past. She would want you to get on with your life and that's something that you're doing. And there's nothing wrong with that." Elena said before kissing him on the cheek.

Stefan felt better after getting that off his chest. Because the truth was that Rebekah had been on his mind recently. And he did see her every day in Arianna. He was just glad that they had talked about their future and was hoping that nothing came between them.

**xxxxxx**

Elena and Stefan decided to take Arianna to the park near Elena's house. It was a nice sunny day out and she was full of energy that needed to be let out so they watched her while she was going down the slide and when she wanted to go on the swings, they took turns pushing her. She was smiling the entire time.

"Elena, are you ever coming back?" Arianna asked after she got off the swing. Elena was confused for a second before she realized that she meant Mystic Falls.

"I'll come back for visits but I'm not going to live there." Why did she have to bring this up? Elena thought that she was over her not living there anymore and was content with spending the weekends with her and Stefan.

"But you're far away now." Arianna said sadly while she sat on the park bench. Stefan sat next to her and started rubbing her back, trying to keep the tears that he knew were bound to come, at bay. "I liked it better when you were at home with me and daddy." She looked at Elena and she could see the tears at the back of her eyes. She hated when Arianna cried.

"I know I am sweetie but you know that you and your dad are welcome to come here any time. And if I ever get the chance, I'll gladly come visit you guys so you don't have to come all the way out here." Elena said hoping that would make her happy. She really didn't want her to cry.

"Okay." Was all Arianna said before snuggling up into her fathers' side. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Now how about we go and get some ice cream?" Elena said hoping to change the mood from depressing to happy. Arianna loves ice cream and just the mention of it can change her mood from being down to extremely happy and giddy.

"Okay! But I want a sundae with hot fudge and sprinkles." Arianna said getting up on her feet. She started walking away and when she realized that Stefan and Elena weren't near her, she turned around noticing that they were still sitting at the bench. "Come on daddy and Elena! You know how much I love ice cream!" She said with her hands on her hips and he head tilted to the side. Elena and Stefan laughed before getting up and walking over to her. They each grabbed one of her hands and started walking in the direction of Stefans car.

**xxxxxx**

"How can a four year old have so much energy?" Elena asked wiping her brow. Arianna had put up a fight when Elena and Stefan tried to get her calm down and take a nap. She needed one. She was over tired but had gotten all of her energy out running around in the yard after they had gotten their ice cream.

"I have no idea." Stefan said, putting his hands in Elena's back pockets and pulling her body closer to his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he leaned his head down to give her a kiss.

"You're good with her, you know." Stefan smiled at her. "I know I've told you this before but it's true. She really looks up to you. She loves you." Stefan smiled again, taking his hands out of her pockets and looping his arms around her waist.

"I'm glad I can be here for her. I love her." She said truthfully. How could she not love her? She was just too adorable. And Caroline and Bonnie told her before that she doesn't usually react to new people like she did with Elena. And she was kind of glad for that, too. It was like they shared a bond of some sort. The thought made Elena smile.

"And I love you for being so good with her." Stefan smiled. He kissed the tip of her nose. Then he kissed her cheek. "And thank you for our talk this morning. I needed to let you know how I felt and what was going on in my head." He rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm your girlfriend. Of course I would want to know these things." She said smiling. She was glad that everything was out in the open with them. The talk about their future and the thoughts about Rebekah that Stefan had been having had put things out in the open. Plus he seemed to be in a better mood now that he had gotten it off of his chest.

"I like hearing you say that. That you're my girlfriend." He said with a smile on his face before kissing her. Every kiss they shared was like their first one over again. It had the same effect on the both of them. When they pulled away he rested his forehead against hers again. "I'm so glad you came into my life, Elena."

"I'm glad too." She answered truthfully before leaning up on her tip toes and kissing him again.

**A/N **: I know it's short. Sorry. Some readers were tweeting me and asking when it was going to be update and I had spare time today. =D Thank you for the reviews on her and on twitter. Really, it means a lot to me.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

There's a three month time jump in this.

**xxxxxx**

Elena has been out of Mystic Falls for three months. Stefan and Arianna spent most weekends at Elena's apartment and some weekends Elena would go to their house in Mystic Falls. There have been weekends that they didn't spend together at all and they would just talk over the phone. Those weekends were the worst.

On the weekends that they did spend together, Elena realized how tired Stefan looked. He looked drained. Physically. She blamed herself for it because he travels three hours to get to her plus working and taking care of Arianna. She could tell that it was starting to take a toll on him

It was Friday and Elena was on her lunch break. She had hers when the students had their lunch and recess. Her phone rang and she put her sandwich down on her napkin, looked at the caller id and smiled when she seen Stefans name across the screen of her phone.

"Hey baby." She said smiling. It's only been a week but she missed both him and Arianna so much and she couldn't wait to see him.

"Hey." She could hear the tiredness in his voice. She knew what the conversation was going to lead to and her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach.

"I can't wait to see you." She said, excitement creeping its way into her voice even though she knew what was coming next.

"Yeah, about later." He started to say and she knew that this was going to be one of those weekends that they don't spend together. "I think it's best if we stay home this weekend."

"Can I still come over for Thanksgiving like we planned?" She asked hopeful. It would hurt if he didn't want her over for Thanksgiving. Everyone was supposed to be there. Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, Jenna, Jeremy, and Anna plus the three of them were all spending Thanksgiving together at Stefan's house. Well that was what was supposed to happen. Thanksgiving was only just days away.

"Of course you can." She let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. She really did think that for some reason he would change his mind and not want her there. "We all want you here. Plus it's our first major holiday as a couple. And you can go back home on Sunday if you want." There was no school on Thursday, Friday, plus the weekend obviously. Which she was kind of grateful for. She loved teaching but she needed a long relaxing weekend. And she couldn't think of doing anything else but spending the long weekend with her boyfriend, his daughter, her family and friends.

"I'll stay the whole weekend." She said with a smile even though she was kind of bummed that they weren't spending this weekend together. "So how come you're not coming over later?"

"I'm just tired. And I really don't want to drag Arianna out in the rain." She nodded her head in understanding as if he could see her.

"I understand. This just means that when we see each other again it's going to be extra special." She said, making an attempt at flirting with him.

"Hmm.." He started to say and she smiled. "I like the sound of that." He smiled on the other end of the line when he heard her giggle.

"I can't wait." She smiled. "I'll drive there Wednesday night so I can help you prepare things." She just wanted to see him an extra night. And if she could, she would. Even if it meant getting to Mystic Falls at six at night. He was worth the drive. So was Arianna.

"You don't have to come here on Wednesday to help. I can handle everything. Besides it will be six by the time you get here." To her, it seemed like he didn't want her there a day early. But she was probably taking things out of context. But she decided to ask anyways.

"Do you not want me to go there a day early?" She asked with sadness coming into her voice. She certainly hoped that wasn't the case.

"That's not it at all, Elena." He said pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head, like she could see him. "I just mean that you are going to be teaching and then you're willing to drive three hours to come here. You're going to be exhausted by the time you get here."

Elena felt relieved but she also felt bad at the same time for even saying something in the first place. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." She said shaking her head. "It's just that's what it felt like."

"Elena, you should know by now that you're always welcome here." She should know that by now. They have been together long enough. "I just worry about you. That's all."

"Okay." There was a quick silence between them. "I have to go." She said quickly.

"Oh. Okay." He said sadly. "I'll call you later." They said their "I love yous'," before hanging up.

**xxxxxx**

Elena spent the rest of the afternoon to try and keep the kids in her classroom calm while trying to make sure that they were learning. It was kind of difficult because they were all wired but eventually, she got them to calm down enough and after, they were fine for the rest of the day.

When the day was over, and she got in her car and got home, she showered, found something to make for herself and picked out a movie to watch.

**xxxxxx**

Arianna wanted pizza. So Stefan ordered it and they were sitting at the kitchen table eating. "Daddy how come we didn't go to Elenas?" She asked randomly. When Stefan first picked her up from school the first question she asked was what time they were going to her house.

"I told you that we were going to spend the weekend here." Stefan said after he took a sip of his drink and placed the cup back down on the table.

"I know daddy. But why?" She asked nosily. She took a bite of her pizza and stared at him before he told her.

"Because it's raining really badly." He said looking out the back door and seeing the rain pouring down outside. "I figured we could stay here this weekend." He could see sadness in her eyes. "But she's coming here on Wednesday and she's spending Thanksgiving with us, like I told you she was." It's not the first weekend that they spent apart but every time they did and he told her that they weren't going to be seeing Elena, Arianna had the same look of sadness. And that looked nearly killed him. But what was he supposed to do?

"How long is she staying here for?" She asked after taking a sip of her juice and looking at her father expectantly.

"Until Sunday." He said happily and her face lit up.

"That's so many days, daddy." She said with a smile on her face and he watched as she started counting the days on her fingers. "That's four whole days!" He smiled at her and took a bite of pizza.

He couldn't wait to see her on Wednesday. Even though she wasn't going to be there until around six, he was going to make sure that there was a nice hot meal prepared for her. She wouldn't have time to eat before she left. Yeah, those four days are going to be amazing. He thought to himself as they finished their pizza in silence.

**A/N** : To the people that leave reviews on here and on Twitter thank you very much. It means a lot to me. Really. :D


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_xo0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

The weekend flew by in a blur and Wednesdays' school day had come and gone. Elena was at home packing enough clothes that will last her until Sunday. Her thoughts travelled to Stefan and how happy she was to be seeing him and Arianna. She missed them over the weekend and she hated the weekends that they spent apart.

When she finally decided on her last outfit, she put it in her bag along with her brush and other necessities that she would need, she put on her jacket and left her apartment, locking the door behind her.

Before she left town, she decided to stop to get a hot chocolate and when she was inside and in line she decided to call Stefan. He answered on the third ring.

"Hey babe." He said happily. "Are you on your way?"

"I stopped to get a hot chocolate and then I will be on my way." She said before ordering her hot chocolate. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too." He genuinely said. "I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see her, too, daddy!" She heard through the phone and smiled. She paid for her hot chocolate, took it from the counter and walked out the door, back out into the crisp November air.

"I can't wait to see the both of you." She said truthfully and she made her way over to her car. "I'll see you when I get there. I love you both." She said smiling as she got into her car.

"We love you, too." He said happily and hung up the phone.

**xxxxxx**

By the time Elena arrived, Stefan already had Arianna bathed and in her pajamas. She was sitting at the kitchen table when Elena walked through the door after Stefan let her in. He took her jacket off for her, grabbed her bags and put them in the hall closet for the time being. When he turned around after closing the door to the closet, he jumped a little, not expecting her to be standing directly behind him. She giggled before smiling up at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down towards her to kiss him.

She missed this. Being able to look at him, hold him and kiss him. After she pulled away, she hugged him, laying her head on his chest and breathing in the scent of his cologne that she has been missing for almost two weeks. "I missed you." She said. She could hear his heart beat and it picked up speed slightly.

"I missed you, too." He kissed the side of her head and felt his body get pushed back slightly. He looked down and seen that Arianna had managed to squeeze herself in between the two of them and had attached herself to Elena's leg. Elena looked down and laughed lightly and picked Arianna up in her arms so that they were eye level.

"I take it you missed me?" Elena said laughing. She felt Stefan put his hand on her lower back and she instantly smiled.

"Yes." Arianna said instantly. "I'm hungry. Can we go eat now?" Stefan laughed, took her out of Elena's arms and set her back on the floor. She lead the way into the kitchen and took the seat that she was sitting in when Elena first walked through the door.

"Breakfast for supper?" Elena asked with a slight smile before taking a seat at the table.

"It was my idea." Arianna said proudly. Stefan had made French toast. It was her favorite.

"I'm glad you suggested it because I love French toast." She grabbed the bottle of syrup and put some on her French toast.

"Me too." She said and they ate their supper in silence.

**xxxxxx**

After they ate dinner, Arianna went to play in the living room and Elena helped Stefan clean up the mess. They talked about whatever came to their minds and when they were done with the dishes, they went into the living room where Arianna was playing with her dolls. She was sitting quietly on the floor.

Enjoying the peacefulness that he was currently surrounded by, he lets his thoughts wander to Elena and how he has been feeling. It's not that he didn't love her. He was crazy in love with her. Head over heels in love and everyone knows it. People at his job, Damon and his friends. But they also notice the strain that the travelling is doing to him.

He wants nothing more but for his relationship to work out. Long distance relationships are tough. He would never ask her to quit her job. What kind of person would that make him? What kind of boyfriend would that make him?

Seeing he was deep in thought, Elena kissed him on the cheek to break him out of the trance that he was in. He let his thoughts fade away and he turned his head to see her staring at him.

"What?" He asked kindly. He didn't want her to think that he was mad at her so he said it as kindly as he possibly could. He wasn't mad at her. He could never be mad at her.

"You were off in your own little world." She replied. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

He mentally debated if he wanted to talk to her about what he was thinking. After a couple of seconds, he shook his head and gave her a slight smile. "No." He finally said. "Not right now. I don't want to ruin the time that we have together." He finished, kissing her forehead.

"Are you sure?" She asked, just wanting to double check. "Because I'm a good listener." She finished saying.

"I'm sure." He replied. "I just want to enjoy the time that I have with you because we haven't spent a lot of time together lately." He finished, smiling at her before kissing her quickly. He knew that one day he would have to tell her what was bothering him. But seeing as how this was the first night that they spent together in almost two weeks, he didn't want to ruin the time that they had together.

**xxxxxx**

Elena put Arianna to bed and read her a bed time story. Like usual, she was sleeping half way through the book. "I love how much you love her." Stefan said after Elena slightly closed the door to Arianna's room.

"I do." She replied, smiling. "I love how much she loves me." She began walking back down the stairs so that she could get her bag to get her pajamas so she could shower. "I'm going to shower." She replied after she found her pajamas in her bag.

"Okay." He replied. "I'll have a hot chocolate ready for you when you come out." He smiled and kissed her quickly.

"Thank you." She replied, turned around and went back upstairs and into the bathroom.

During her time in the shower, she took the time to think. She could tell earlier that something was bothering Stefan and it was bothering her that he wouldn't tell her what it was. But she wasn't going to force him to tell her if he didn't want to tell her. He would tell her when he was ready. At least she hoped. She hated the idea of him keeping something from her. Especially something that bothered him.

You're supposed to be able to communicate in a relationship. What if what he was keeping from her was something major? She made a mental note to ask him again sometime before she left. Just like him, she didn't want to ruin the time that they had together. Especially because it was the first night that they have seen each other in almost two weeks. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she got out of the shower, dried up, got dressed and went downstairs so that she could enjoy the rest of the night with her boyfriend.

**A/N** : I am so unbelievably sorry that it took me forever to update this. On top of working there is a lot going on and I have lacked inspiration due to the lack of SE. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** : love_paulx0 – I will post when I plan on updating or if there's another idea floating around in my head. Or we can talk about the show & our Stelena feels. =D That's not my personal **Twitter** just one I made for fun. =D enjoy!

**xxxxxx**

Elena woke the next morning with Stefans' arms wrapped around her waist. Feeling her slowly moving around, he tightened his grip a little more on her and pulled her further back into his chest.

"Good morning." He said smiling and kissing the back of her head. "Sleep fine?" He asked smirking, knowing damn well she did because of the slight snores that he heard from her throughout the night.

"Mhmm." She replied sleepily. "Best sleep I've had in days." She said placing her hands on his that were wrapped around her. She felt him kissing the back of her head again and smiled, completely forgetting about yesterdays' problems with whatever he wasn't telling her. "What time is everyone coming over?"

Stefan thought for a minute before he replied. "One-ish, I think. Why?" He said before planting a kiss on her shoulder.

"Oh, I just wanted to know if there was going to be time for Stefan and Elena time." She asked smirking and giggling. Smiling, he maneuvered so that he was on top of her, his hands on each side of her head. He was looking down at her and making sure that he wasn't pressing all of his weight on her. He kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose before moving his hands lightly down her arms. When he reached her sides, he started to tickle her.

"Stef-Stef-Stefan," She said through laughter. "Stop," She said, still laughing. "Can't breathe." He finally let up and somehow, she managed to flip them so now she was on his lap, staring down at him with a big goofy grin. "I win." She said smiling even wider.

"What do you get for a prize?" He asked smiling. He was truly so much happier when she was around. Her smile brightens up his day and her laughter was just contagious.

"Hmmm…" She brought her index finger up to her chin and started tapping on in and averted her eyes to the ceiling, making it look like she was deep in thought. Like she was concentrating. "You." She said averting her gaze back to him and biting her lower lip and smirking.

"I like where this is going." He said before sitting up straight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead against his.

"I thought you might." She smiled before kissing him and pushing him back on the bed, so that he was lying on his back.

**xxxxxx**

Arianna slept later than normal. Stefan and Elena weren't complaining because it gave them time to 'freshen up' after their morning activities. Afterwards, Stefan got their breakfast ready while Elena helped Arianna get ready for the day. She came downstairs in blue jeans and a pink frilly shirt, and her hair in pig tails.

"Well don't you look adorable." Stefan said smiling at his daughter. She gave him a big toothy grin before making her way over to him to give him a hug.

"I picked it out." She said smiling up at him before he picked her up, placing her against his hip. "Elena did my hair, too!" She said excitedly.

"I noticed the pig tails." He said smiling. "You love having your hair in pig tails." He kissed the side of her head and set her back down on her feet before making his way over to Elena, who was standing in the door way to the kitchen, watching the exchange between the two of them.

"Hey." He said smiling down at her and placing his hands on her waist. She wrapped her arms loosely around his waist and he pulled her in for a hug. She rested the side of her head on his chest and felt a kiss on the side of her head.

"Are you happy to have everyone over today?" She asked. She felt his chest rise and fall with each breath he took and it kind of calmed her a little. She felt relaxed. She hadn't felt this relaxed since the last time she was around him.

"Yes. It's been a while since I've had a lot of people over." He pulled out of the hug so that he was able to look her in her eyes. "But truthfully, I want the day to be over quickly." He sighed. "I just want to spend time with you and Arianna."

She felt herself smile and the thoughts that had been clouding her mind about the day before and his distance slowly disappeared. "I want that too." She said truthfully. "But I want to spend time with our friends and family, too." She finished smiling up at him. "Don't worry, babe." He smiled at the nick name. "We have all days to make up for lost time." She said flirtatiously and winking at him. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead before taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. He pulled out her chair for her and finished making them breakfast.

**xxxxxx**

The house was packed by 11 am. Stefan was working hard in the kitchen and occasionally, Elena went in to ask him if he needed help. Every time she asked, he politely told her that he was fine and to go relax and spend time with her friends and family.

Arianna was the only child in the house. Elena spent as much time with her as she could to keep her from getting bored or into any trouble. Jenna commented to Stefan how good of a role model Elena was to Arianna and she could tell that they loved each other. She also told him that she was happy that he and Elena were together and he made her niece very happy.

When the meal was ready, they gathered around the table, gave their thanks and dug in. Stefan was sitting at the head of the table. Elena was on one side of him and Arianna was on the other. He had his two favorite girls on the side of him and he was with his family and his friends and he truly was happy to be with everyone, but he really couldn't wait for the meal to be over so that he could spend time with Elena and Arianna.

"Stefan, this is delicious." Jenna said to him. He thanked her and smiled before she continued speaking. "Seriously, Elena, if you two ever get married then you won't have to worry about going hungry." Jenna said jokingly. Stefan let out a nervous laugh and hoped that Elena didn't notice it. Even though this topic had come up before between Stefan and Elena, right now, marriage was the last thing on his mind.

"Yeah, little bro. When are you going to tie the knot? Again?" Damon asked him. Stefan's face paled and his mouth went try. He didn't know what to say. Under the table, Elena put her hand on his knee and gave it a gently squeeze. She looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile before speaking.

"We're fine with where we are in our relationship." Elena said smiling. She took her hand off of his knee and grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers and giving his hand a gentle squeeze, just like she did with his knee. She mouthed "I love you" to him before going back to her meal.

**xxxxxx**

Much to Stefans' dismay, after dinner was over and the guests and Arianna were in the living room relaxing, Elena helped him clean up. He told her that he could handle it but she insisted, secretly wanting to talk about what Jenna had said during their meal.

"So," She said casually while placing dishes into the dishwasher. She said it quietly enough so that only he could hear. "What Jenna said freaked you out, huh?" She grabbed another dish and put it in the dishwasher, waiting for his reply.

He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. "I was hoping that you didn't realize that." He said truthfully and he turned so that he was facing her, crossing his arms over his chest. "We've only talked about that once. About our future. She just caught me off guard." Elena closed the dishwasher and dried her hands on the dish towel before turning so that she was facing him.

"I'm sorry." She sighed. "My aunt says what's on her mind. Are you mad?" She asked worriedly.

"Of course not." He answered truthfully. "Like I said, she just caught me off guard." He took her hands in his and raised them to his lips, placing a kiss on the top of both of them. "We'll talk more about this later, okay? When everyone leaves and Arianna goes to bed and it's just the two of us. We'll talk." He kissed her forehead and took her hand, leading her into the living room to join everyone else.

**xxxxxx**

Elena let out a long sigh after the last guest left. "Everyone left happy." She said sitting down next to Stefan on the couch. "They enjoyed themselves." She looked at him smiling.

"I'm glad." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, kissing the side of her head as she leaned into him. Arianna had fallen asleep before Caroline, who was last to leave, left so Stefan had put her to bed. Now it was just the two of them.

"What's wrong?" She asked turning her head to look up at him. She noticed the expression he had when she went to sit near him. He looked down.

"I'm just thinking." He answered vaguely.

"Can you be anymore vague?" She said with a slight smile on her face. She didn't know whether or not she should be worried because he was being unusually quiet. "You said you wanted to spend time with me, Stefan. If you want to talk, I'm here to listen." She said before kissing his cheek.

He let out a long sigh before opening his mouth to speak. He turned his head so that he was looking her in the eyes. "You know I love you, right?"

Elena immediately thought the worst and felt her heart drop in the pit of her stomach. All she could do was nod her head. "Are you breaking up with me?" She asked quickly, afraid of his answer.

"What?" He asked looking at her surprised for asking him that question. "Of course not. Why would you think that?" He asked, maneuvering so that they were sitting face to face now. He reached down and grabbed her hands, rubbing his thumb over the top of them.

"It seemed like it for a second." She said almost nervously. She didn't want him to break up with her.

"I'm not breaking up with you." He said calmly. "I was just going to say that this whole distance thing is starting to wear me down. I mean with the travelling back and forth. It's tiring." He finished.

"Well, what do you think we should do about it?" She said.

"I was thinking what if Arianna and I moved out there with you?" He said with a straight face, making her become speechless.

**A/N **: I tried to make it longer for you. Hope you enjoyed the Stelena sweetness!


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

**xxxxxx**

Elena was staring blankly at Stefan, unsure of what to say. It wouldn't be fair to Stefan to have to move three hours away from home. It wouldn't be fair to Arianna, either. Her aunts and uncles are here in Mystic Falls, plus she has school and her friends from school. What kind of person would she be to agree to have them moving out there and uprooting their entire lives?

It's not like she doesn't want them around. She wants that more than anything. She'd be able to see them whenever and not have limited time with them. But then again it wouldn't be fair to Stefan and Arianna to leave everything behind because she was in a long distance relationship with Stefan.

"Elena?" He said her name to break her out of the trance that she was in. He was afraid that he had scared her. Moving in together was a big step. "Say something." He said touching her cheek. She leaned into his palm a little more before replying.

"Stefan," She replied with a half smile. "I would love that more than anything." He smiled before she continued. "But I can't let you do that." His smile faltered. "Arianna needs her family, Stefan. I can't be that person. I can't be the person that makes someone uproot his entire life to make things easier. You need to think about Arianna too, Stefan. She will be leaving her entire life behind."

He decided that she was right. It wouldn't be right to move Arianna away from the only place that she's ever known and away from her family and friends. Plus, she will have to transfer schools and she tells him all the time how much she loves her school.

"You're right." He said, taking his hand off her cheek and grabbing her hands and brought them up to his lips to kiss the top of them. After lowering them, but still holding onto them, he decided to speak. "I have to think about my daughter, too." He watched her smile. "I just wish that there was an easier way." He said lowering his head.

"I wish there was too, Stefan." She said looking away from him before continuing. "Long distance relationships are tough. But we love each other so we can make it work. We have been making it work." She looked back at him and looked directly into his green eyes that she loved so much. "Baby, don't worry about the distance." She grabbed on to both sides of his face. "We're making it work. And we will continue to make it work." She pulled his face a closer to hers so she can kiss him.

"I love you, Elena." He said after he pulled away from her. He rested her forehead against hers and put her hair behind her ears. "So much." She smiled as he kissed the tip of her nose.

"I love you too, Stefan." She smiled before kissing him again.

**xxxxxx**

"Daddy, wake up!" He heard early the next morning. Arianna was standing next to his bed, giving him a big toothy grin. Sighing, he pulled the pillow out from under his head and put it over him to block out the sun coming through the curtains. "Daddy!" She whined. "Get up!" She started pulling on his arm. Realizing that he wasn't going to get out of bed, she took the pillow off his head.

He squinted his eyes at her before finally rolling over and sitting up, leaning against the headboard. He looked to his right and seen that Elena was up, smiling and laughing at the whole exchange. Stefan smiled, rubbed his eyes and then picked Arianna up and placed her on the bed.

"It's about time you wake up." She said smiling at him. "I want to go outside and play." She said giving him another toothy smile. He looked at his phone on the bedside table and rubbed his hands over his face before speaking.

"It's only 7am." He looked over and seen Elena sit up in bed, leaning her back against the head board. He watched as she slumped her shoulders in defeat. "You can go out and play after." He said finishing his sentence.

"It snowed last night, too!" She said excitedly. "Like a whole lot. So I can build a snow man!" She said smiling.

"I can help you if you want." Elena said smiling. She hasn't built a snow man since she was a little girl. She loved building them and she loved spending time with Arianna. She knew that she would enjoy herself. Arianna would have fun, too. All that mattered to Elena is if Arianna was out enjoying herself.

"I'll take pictures." Stefan added. "I can print them out and hang them up. I will give Elena some pictures to take home with her, too." He finished, looking over at Elena and smiling. She smiled back at him before leaning closer to him and giving him a kiss on his cheek and mumbling her thanks. They turned their attention back to Arianna.

"When can we go outside and build a snow man?" Arianna impatiently asked. "I want to go outside now." She was starting to get demanding.

"Ari, I said later." Stefan said back to her. He wasn't yelling at her. He never yelled at her. But when Arianna didn't get her way she had a way of making sure she did. Call her spoiled. She's an only child and Stefan just wants to make sure that she's happy.

She started to pout which means any minute now she will be throwing a temper tantrum until she got her way. "Ari, listen to your dad." Elena said calmly. She's only witnessed a couple of Arianna's temper tantrums and they weren't pretty.

Arianna turned her head quickly to Elena before speaking. "Shut up, Elena. You're not my mom. You can't tell me what to do." She said screaming. Elena tried to hide the hurt and she tried not to cry. What Arianna said really got to her.

"Ari!" Stefan said sort of angrily. "You apologize to her right now." Arianna crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head no. Elena got up out of the bed and left the room and went downstairs. She knew that she wasn't Arianna's mom but hearing her scream at her like that really got to her. She needed space.

"You're going to apologize to Elena." Stefan sternly said, picking her up off his lap and placing her back down on the floor. "Right now." He finished his sentence before heading towards the door to leave so that he could find Elena.

Not hearing her footsteps behind him, he turned around and seen that she hasn't let the spot that she was in. "No." Arianna said stubbornly.

"Fine. You're going in your room until you apologize to her. I'm taking your toys out and you're going to stay in there until you apologize. I'll bring your breakfast up to you." He said before walking over to her, picking her up and bringing her into your room. "Or maybe Elena will bring your breakfast up and wait while you eat. You can apologize to her then."

Stefan cleared out her room of toys but left her books and made his way downstairs, calling out Elena's name. He heard her crying in the kitchen. When he walked into the kitchen, he seen her sitting on the stool near the island. He made his way over there and sat on the other stool, turning her body around so that she was facing him and looking him in the eyes.

"Hey." He said using his thumbs to clear her cheeks of tears. "She shouldn't have said that to you. She didn't mean it." He pulled her into him to hug her and started to rub her back, trying to calm her down. He hated when she cried.

"It's just…." She started to say before crying some more. "It hurt." She pulled out of his embrace and he wiped the new tears off of her face.

"I know, baby. But she didn't mean it. She's going to apologize. She is just stubborn right now." He said stroking her arms. Elena finally calmed down a little bit.

"I wasn't trying to be her mom, Stefan. I know that I will never be Rebekah. But hearing her yell at me like that and say those things, it really hurt. I never knew that's how she felt. That when I told her something to do she thought I was taking her moms place. I didn't mean to come off like that." She replied.

"You don't come off like Rebekah, Elena. She didn't mean what she said. She loves you and looks up to you. She was mad that she wasn't getting her way. She was mad that I wasn't giving in." He got up off the stool and went around the island to fix Arianna's breakfast.

"Can I bring up her breakfast?" Elena asked, standing up and going behind the island to stand next to him. She placed her hand on his lower back and watched him make her breakfast.

"Yeah. I was hoping that you would so she could apologize to you. Hopefully she's calmed down a little bit by now." He finished making Arianna's breakfast, kissed Elena on the cheek and handed her the bowl of oatmeal and a banana to bring upstairs. He followed her up the stairs with a glass of orange juice and they made their way into Arianna's room.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan stood in his doorway. He hated eavesdropping but he wanted to make sure that Arianna did apologize. What she said to Elena was hurtful and she didn't deserve it. Elena loves Arianna so much and she can't bare it if she's mad.

He heard Arianna tell Elena that she was sorry and that she didn't mean what she said. She told Elena that she loves her and hopes that she's not mad at her and hoped that they could still go outside and build the snowman that they had been talking about earlier that morning. Elena agreed but said that it was up to Stefan. Hearing them start walking, he walked further into his room and sat on the bed, leaning back against the head board and making it look like he didn't hear anything.

Elena picked Arianna up off the floor and put her on the bed in front of Stefan. "Did you apologize to Elena?" He asked even though he knew that she did.

"Yes." She said truthfully. "I'm sorry, daddy. I hate when you're mad at me." She said truthfully and she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.

"I know, sweetie. But you need to understand that Elena is with me and you need to listen to her, too, okay?" Arianna pulled out of the hug and looked at him nodding her head.

"I will, daddy." She looked at Elena as she sat on the bed and leaned back against the head board. "I promise." Elena smiled at her and Arianna went over to her and gave her hug, apologizing again.

"It's okay, Ari." Elena said. "Why don't you ask your dad about the snowman again?" Arianna pulled away from the hug and looked at her father, giving him the puppy dog face knowing that he can't resist it.

"Okay. Elena and I are going to eat breakfast and then after everything's cleaned up and we're all dressed, we'll go outside to build a snow man." He said smiling. Arianna smiled another toothy grin and quickly got off the bed and went into her room to collect the dishes from her breakfast.

"Let's go daddy and Elena! You guys need to eat! We have a snow man to build!" She said excitedly. Stefan and Elena laughed, got off the bed, and they all made their way downstairs.

**A/N** : I'm really sorry that it takes me days to update. Forgive me?


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

**xxxxxx**

The days that Elena spent with Stefan and Arianna flew by and before she knew it, she had to go back to her apartment because Thanksgiving break was over. Part of her didn't want to go back because she loved spending time with the two of them. After saying their goodbyes, she got into her car and drove off, heading in the direction to leave town.

That day, she couldn't help but notice that Stefan was becoming distant again. She didn't know why. That morning, when she woke up, she had rolled on her side and seen that he was awake and just staring at the ceiling and when she asked him what was wrong, he had completely brushed her off saying that nothing was wrong. That everything was fine.

She didn't want to think the worst but couldn't help it. He had told her days before when she asked that he wasn't going to break up with her but she couldn't stop the sinking feeling in her stomach that that's exactly what he had wanted and just decided to say something different instead.

The truth is, she couldn't imagine her life without him and Arianna in it. It may sound kind of crazy but it's true. They have become two of the most important people in her life but if he wanted out then who was she to hold him back? "_This is crazy_." She thought to herself. "_I need to stop being so paranoid. If he wanted out he would tell me. He loves me. Everything is fine._" She concluded. After shaking her head to break her out of her thoughts, she continued to drive out of town.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan had just put Arianna down for a nap because she was cranky. Making his way into the living room after leaving her bedroom, he sat on the couch and decided to use the time to think about his life with Elena. She made him happy. Really happy. He had told her when she asked if he was breaking up with her that he wasn't. He didn't want to. She is the most important person in his life besides Arianna. But he would be lying if he said that he didn't mind the distance. Because he did.

He had thought that it would be easier on him and their relationship if he and Arianna moved out to where she lived. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But he really didn't want to uproot Arianna from everyone and everything she's ever known. So to him, it was kind of a good thing that she had turned him and his offer down.

He hated the distance between them more than anything. He didn't know what to do anymore. He was at a loss. He wanted to be with her so much. He wanted her in his life. But distance is tough and it eventually becomes too much to handle.

He leaned his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face unsure of what to do. One on hand, he loved her with everything that he has and then on the other hand, he doesn't want to hold her back from her dream. She may be doing what she's always wanted but the travel has to be tough on her, too. Not just him.

**xxxxxx**

After parking her car, getting her bags, and making her way into her house, she decided to call Jenna. She needed someone to talk to about what she had thought about on her way home. Luckily, Jenna answered on the second ring so she didn't have to wait long to get her feelings out.

"Hey, Elena." She said cheerily on the other end. Even though she had seen her niece on Thanksgiving and spent time with her during her visit, she still missed her niece crazily and liked to talk to her whenever possible. "What's up?" She finished.

Elena let out a loud sigh before she began saying what was on her mind. "I feel like things are changing between Stefan and me." She started. "We were fine during my visit and then this morning he seemed distant. And this isn't the first time he's been like this, either." She finished.

"Have you talked to him about how you are feeling?" Jenna asked. She was genuinely concerned. She thought that Stefan and Elena were perfect for each other and she approved of her nieces boyfriend and didn't want anything to come between them.

"Well, the night of Thanksgiving, after everyone left I asked him if he was breaking up with me. He said 'You know I love you, right?' so it seemed like he was going to then but he told me that he wasn't going to. He was kind of distant then, too." Elena let out a long breath and hearing herself say those words made her have another sinking feeling in her stomach for the second time that day. "I just … I don't know what to do." She finished.

She heard Jenna sigh on the other end. "Long distance relationships aren't easy, Elena. They are tough and can drive a wedge into a relationship. I think that's what's happening in yours. He works five days a week plus takes care of Arianna so it's got to be tough. I know that it's tough on you, too. Maybe you should call him and talk to him about this."

Elena nodded her head as if her aunt could see her. "Okay." She started saying. She heard a beep and pulled the phone away from her ear and seen Stefans name flashing across the screen. "Hey I have to go. Stefan is calling me." They said their good byes' and she clicked over to the other line.

**xxxxxx**

After finally making a decision on what he had to do and what he thought was best, he took his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. When she answered her phone, he felt his stomach do a flop.

"Hey, Stef." She said. He couldn't tell if she was happy or sad and that's something he was always able to do.

"Hey, Elena." He started. "I've been doing some thinking." He started saying. He hated having to do this but he thought that it would be best for the both of them. Distance was wearing them both down and making them grow apart.

"I think I know what you're going to say." She said, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want this but if he didn't want to be with her anymore she couldn't force him.

"Then let me say it." He said interrupting her before she had the chance to say anything. Hearing nothing but her breathing on the other end he continued. "I love you so much. You know that I do." He paused feeling his own eyes well up. "And you can call me a coward if you want for doing this over the phone and not face to face and I'm sorry for that but I know that if I tried doing this in person, I wouldn't be able to." He paused again, hearing a choking sound on her end indicating that she was crying "I'm not strong enough to do this face to face. I can't do this anymore, Elena." He finished.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind?" She choked out in between her sobs, totally disregarding her earlier thoughts about not making him be in a relationship with her if he didn't want to.

"I wish I didn't have to do this, Elena." Was what he said in response. "I thought that we could make this work with distance. But it's just you are too far. And the travel is getting to be too much." He used his free hand to wipe the tears off his face. He didn't want to do this. But he thought that it had to be done.

"I understand." She said. "Before you go, I just want you to know how much I love you and always will." She finished.

"I know." He said. "Goodbye, Elena."

"Bye." She said before she heard the sound of the dial tone indicating that he hung up. Stefan leaned back against the couch and let what he just did sink in. It's not that he didn't love her and want her in his life. It's the exact opposite of that. He loved her so much and wanted her in his life. But he did what he thought was best for the both of them.

Now he had to think of how he was going to break the news to Arianna. She loved Elena so much and now she's not going to be in her life.

**xxxxxx**

Elena was laying on her couch, covered up and watching a movie on TV. She cried out every tear that she had. She doesn't hate Stefan for breaking up with her. She could never hate him. And she had a feeling that he was going to end up breaking up with her.

Maybe if she had said yes to him when he offered to move him and Arianna out there with her this could have all been avoided. But she couldn't let him just move out of state leaving Arianna with her family and friends from school being three hours away. That just wouldn't be right.

Hearing her phone ring brought her out of her train of thought. When she picked it up off the coffee table, she seen Caroline's name flashing across the screen. After debating with herself if she should answer it or not, she decided to.

"Hello?" She said into the phone even though she really wasn't in the mood to talk, especially to Caroline who is usually so bubbly.

"Elena," She said sadly. "_She must know_." Elena thought to herself. "I just talked to Stefan." She finished. "_I knew it._" She thought to herself. "You know that he didn't want to do it, right?" Elena sat up on her couch and curled herself into the corner of it, pulling her knees up so that they were level with her chin.

As if Caroline could see her, she nodded her head before speaking. "I know, Care." She said. "He told me that he wished he didn't have to do this. But I understand why he did. We were foolish in thinking that we could make our relationship work. It's too far in distance and some weeks we don't see each other at all." She finished.

"Just remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder." Caroline said. "I believe that one way or another you two will end up getting back together. He found you for a reason, 'Lena. Trust me, you are good for him." She finished.

"Yeah, I'm just not good for him now." Elena said sadly. "I should have never taken this job." She finished.

"He wanted you take it." Caroline said. "It's your dream, Elena and he is so proud of you. We all are. It just so happens that your dream is three hours away. At least you can say that you tried to make it work. And it worked for a couple of months. It just came to be too much." Caroline continued. "It's not like he doesn't love you, Elena. He loves you so much which is another reason why he thought this had to be done. He doesn't want to hold you back." She finished.

"I don't know why he thinks he's holding me back. I have the job that I always wanted. He's not holding me back from anything." Elena said. "But I told him that I understood why he did what he did. The distance was becoming too much. Not just for him but for me, too. The traveling back and forth was getting too much for him. I understand why he broke up with me." She finished.

"I know." Caroline said. "But I believe that you two are meant to be and will find a way to be with each other again. If you're meant to be then you will find your way back to each other. And I truly believe that you two are." Caroline finished. She wanted the two of them together since the day they first met so she's taking the break up hard too even though it has nothing to do with her.

"We'll see what happens in the future I guess." Elena said. They talked for a little bit longer before they both said good bye and hung up the phone.

**A/N** : Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I have been busy and I have a lot going on. Also, sorry for this chapter.


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

notorrious requested a time jump and I had intentions of making one anyways so just know that there's a year time jump.

**xxxxxx**

It's been a year since her and Stefan broke up. A year since she seen him and Arianna, a year since she talked to him. It took her weeks to fight off the urge to talk to him, just to hear the sound of his voice. She had still talked to Caroline, Bonnie, Jenna and Jeremy but no one ever brought up Stefans' name. And for that, she was grateful.

Over the past year, she taught, and on occasion, she would go out with some people that she had met in her apartment building. She wasn't close to any of them but every once in a while she needed a night out. And she sure as hell deserved one.

When she entered her apartment that night, she kicked off her shoes and made her way into her kitchen to grab a drink out of her fridge. She took a sip of her water and let her eyes wander around the apartment, letting them fall on the door that leads to the room that has been closed off for the last year. Everything is still the same in there. She didn't have the heart to take everything out to throw it away or to donate it. It held too many memories for her. Memories that had haunted her for the past year. Because as much as she hated to admit it to herself and out loud, she wasn't over Stefan. He had made such a huge impact on her life and she knew that by now, she should be over him. But the truth is she feared that she would never, fully, be over him.

Earlier in the day, Elena declined going out with her friends. She just wanted to sit home, possibly have a glass of wine, and just relax. She had a long and tiring day at the school. Luckily it was Friday so she had the whole weekend to do nothing but relax. But then she looked around her apartment again and knew what she had to do. She got up from her seat on the couch, grabbed her jacket, keys and purse and left her apartment.

**xxxxxx**

365 days. He has regretted his decision everyday for the last 365 days but thought that it was for the best. He would be lying if he said that he didn't think about her, or miss her. He would be lying if he said that he hasn't picked up his phone and went through his contacts and seen her name. He would be lying if he said that he hasn't almost called her countless times.

A week after he broke up with her, he packed up the things that she had left at his house and sent it to her. Caroline had told him that Elena called her when she got the box of her things and she had broken down crying on the phone because she had missed him. She wasn't ready to have her things back and she wasn't expecting them so soon.

Stefan and Elena weren't the only ones that had been affected by their break up. Arianna was affected by it too. When Stefan told her that they wouldn't be seeing Elena again, she thought that it was her fault. She thought that she did something to upset Elena and that it was her decision to never see them again. But after Stefan told her the truth, that it was his decision to end things with her, she was upset that she wouldn't be seeing Elena again, but knowing that it had nothing to do with her, had calmed her a little.

Stefan had felt bad though. Sometimes she would ask if she could call Elena and he would tell her no. He hated saying no to her. He knew that she missed her as much as she did. But he did what was best for all three of them.

After he picked Arianna up from school, they went to The Grille to eat and he took her out for ice cream, after. They met up with Caroline at the ice cream shop and they sat down and started talking.

Stefan was one of Caroline's best friends and she wanted nothing more than what was best for him. And she knew that the best thing for him was Elena. She could tell that he wasn't over Elena still. When Stefan loved someone, he loves them with everything that he has. She had seen it with Rebekah and she seen it with Elena. And when her and Elena talked, even though they never talked about Stefan, she could tell that Elena was still missing him just by the sound of her voice.

"She still misses you, you know." She blurted out after she took a bite of her ice cream. Stefans head shot up from the spot that he was staring at on the wooden bench that they were sitting at. They decided to take advantage of the weather. It was a beautiful sunny and warm day in the middle of winter. Why not take advantage while you can? "She won't admit it because we don't bring you up in any conversation but I can just tell."

Stefan stared at Caroline, not sure what to say to her so Arianna spoke up for him. "Daddy misses her, too." She said and Stefan turned his head to the side to look at his daughter waiting to see if she will continue with what she was saying. Stefan could feel Caroline's eyes boring into the side of his head because he never told her that. Caroline just has a way of reading people. He thought that Arianna could keep a secret. Apparently she can't. "When I tell daddy that I miss Elena, he tells me that he misses her, too."

Stefan could still feel Caroline's eyes on him so he decided to lift his head so that he could see her. She has a slight smirk on her face and a look of "Aha, I knew it." was written all over her face. "Maybe you should call her." She said breaking the silence between the two of them.

"I can't call her, Caroline." He didn't think he could. And he didn't think that she would want to talk to him anyways because he hasn't talked to her in a year. Why would she want to hear from him? "I doubt she would want to hear from me, anyways." He said resting his elbows on the table and rubbing his hands over his face.

"You won't know unless you try." Caroline told him in response. "Besides, I know the two of you will eventually find your way back to each other." She said. He took his hands from his face and put them on the table. Caroline reached across and grabbed a hold of his hand in a friendly manner. "You're soul mates." Stefan tried to fight back the smile that was trying to form but gave up on trying to fight it. Caroline gave his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away to finish her ice cream.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan had given Arianna a bath when they had got back from eating ice cream with Caroline. She had said that she had to go after she was done her ice cream and Arianna had ice cream all over her shirt anyways so they left right after Caroline left. After her bath, despite the still warm temperature, Arianna wanted a hot chocolate so Stefan made one for him and for her while she got settled on the couch.

When he went back into the living room, he put the mugs down on the coffee table and put a DVD in the player for them to watch. He shut the lights off on the way back to the couch and when he sat down, he grabbed their mugs before she got on his lap. He handed her the cup and she took a sip. "Yummy." She smiled and nestled back into his chest and put the cups on the end table and covered her up with the blanket that was laying on

The movie started and about half way through, he could hear light snores coming from Arianna. He chuckled lightly and slowly and gently lifted her and he made his way up the stairs to her room. After she was tucked in, he went back downstairs to take care of the mugs that had the hot chocolate in them before making his way back upstairs to get ready to take a shower.

He let his thoughts wander during his shower and he decided that Caroline was probably right. It doesn't hurt to try and call her. He wanted to know how she was doing and how her job was going so he decided to try and call her.

He discarded his dirty clothing in the hamper in his room and grabbed his phone, deciding that now was as good a time as ever to give her a call. He made his way down the stairs, grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and made his way back into the living room and was about to sit down on the couch when someone rang the door bell.

Agitated that someone interrupted his current plans, he let out a frustrated sigh, threw his phone on the couch and made his way over to the door. Without bothering to ask who was on the other side because he assumed that it was Bonnie or even Caroline, he opened the door to find those doe brown eyes that he hasn't seen but sincerely missed over the last year looking back at him.

**A**/**N** : I am so sorry that this is extremely short but I wanted to get something up for you guys. And I am very truly sorry that it takes me so long to update.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

**xxxxxx**

Stefan thought he was dreaming. He thought that he would never be seeing her again but here she was, on his door step. He could never forget how beautiful she is and how he can easily got lost in her eyes. And when she smiled at him, her nose crinkled up a little bit and that's something that he always thought was adorable. He felt the familiar butterflies that he used to get every time he seen her and blood rushed to his cheeks because he knew that she was watching him look her up and down.

"So," She started saying nervously holding her hands behind her back. "Are you going to invite me in?" He nodded nervously and stepped to the side.

"Of course." He said, opening the door wider and closing it behind her when she got inside the house. "Let me get your jacket for you." He said walking behind her and taking her jacket off and placing it in the nearby hall closet. "Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked trying not to go into an awkward silence.

"Um," She started saying. "A hot chocolate would be nice." She said smiling up at him. He nodded his head and she followed him into the kitchen where he got right to work on making both him and her hot chocolate. She took a seat on one of the chairs at the kitchen table and watched him work.

"So," She heard him say and he turned around to face her while leaning his back against the kitchen counter, and crossing his arms over his chest. "What brings you here?" He asked her as calmly as he could. He wasn't expecting to see her.

She bowed her head and bit her bottom lip before speaking what was on her mind. "I missed you." She said quietly. "I looked around my apartment and my eyes stopped at Ariannas bedroom." She said standing up and walking over to him. "Nothings' changed in there. I kept all of her stuff and it's in the same order it was in when she left." He nodded his head and turned around to finish preparing the hot chocolate. After he was done, he grabbed the mugs and made his way to the kitchen table and took a seat. She sat across from him.

"I'm sorry, you know." He said sliding her cup across the table. "For the way that I ended things with you." He looked away from her and focused his gaze on a spot on the table. "I just felt like it had to be done." He took a sip of his chocolate before letting his gaze wander back up to her. "I had to do what was best for not only me and you, but for Arianna, too." He focused back on a spot on the table.

"I know." She told him before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "I understand why you did. And it hurt. It really did." She reached her hand across the table and took his hand off the mug so she was able to hold on to it. "But just so you know, there hasn't been anyone else, in case you were wondering." He couldn't deny that the thought crossed his mind and he couldn't help the sense of relief he had felt when she told him. He had wanted her to move on from him but a part of him, a selfish part of him, didn't want her to so he couldn't help but feel glad that she wasn't with anyone else.

"I missed you, you know." Stefan said and he smiled when he felt her hand give his a gentle squeeze. "And I regretted breaking up with you. I really did." He looked up from what he was staring at on the top of the table. "I still do." He let out in a whisper. "But I don't think we could ever go back to what we were. I'm not saying that we can never happen again, I just don't think it would be the same."

She let go of his hand and leaned back into her seat and took a sip of her hot chocolate before responding to him. "I didn't come back here to get you back, Stefan." She sighed. "At least, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to see you because I missed you and Arianna." But now that he mentioned them never getting back to what they were, she wanted to know why. "Why don't you think we could ever be what we were, Stefan?"

"Because," He said before rubbing his hands over his face. "Because too much time has passed. I don't think we could ever go back to the way that we were." She nodded her head in understanding before answering.

"Did the feelings that you had for me change?" She asked quickly. "You said you missed me so I was just wondering."

"No," He said shaking his head. "No, none of my feelings changed. I still feel the same way that I did a year ago. I just don't think we can be together. At least not right now."

She looked down, not really wanting to look him in the eyes before asking the question that was on her mind. "Was there someone else?" She asked not really wanting to know the answer to her own question.

"No, of course there wasn't anyone else. You were the only one that was on my mind for the last year." He looked away for a second before finishing his thoughts. "And to be completely honest, I didn't really have the courage to call you. Until today. I was about to call you but then you knocked on my door."

"I wanted to see you. I'm not happy, Stefan. I'm not as happy as I was when we were together. I want to come back home. I want to come back to Mystic Falls." She told him truthfully. She did want to come home. She missed everyone.

"You drove three hours to tell me that you want to move back to Mystic Falls?" He asked dumbfounded. Why not just pick up the phone and call? Why drive all the way out there to tell him?

"I wanted to see you." She told him.

"I understand that, Elena. But what about all of your things? What about your job? You love your job and I think that one day you will regret quitting." He told her. He knew that she loved her job and he honestly thought that one day in the future, she would regret quitting it.

"I can go back for my things. That's not a big deal. As for teaching, I can find someplace else. I told you, Stefan. I'm not happy. Things aren't really the same anymore." She told him truthfully. "I miss my family and I miss my friends. And I miss you and Arianna. I'd like to think that even though we aren't together then we could at least still be friends."

"I'm not saying that this is permanent, Elena." He said meaning where they stood in their relationship right now. "Things can change. I think we both still love and care about each other. It just might take time for us to get used to things again." He let out a long sigh. "How about we take things one day at a time and then we will see where things go from there?" He watched a smile form on her lips and he couldn't help but smile, too.

Because even though they spent a year apart, they both still cared and loved each other. You can't expect to spend a year away from someone and jump right back into a relationship and act like nothing had happened. Like no time had passed in between.

But taking things one day at a time might help them. It might help them be able to slowly start their relationship up again. At the beginning, they didn't rush into anything. They went on dates first and got to know each other. And now, maybe that can happen again. Maybe their time apart can help them grow closer together.

**xxxxxx**

He let her stay at his house overnight. He didn't want her staying in a crummy hotel and what kind of person would he be if he didn't offer her a place to sleep? Arianna got the shock of her life the next morning when she went into Stefans' bedroom and seen Elena sleeping in the bed and Stefan nowhere to be found.

She quickly left the room and went down the stairs and seen Stefans sleeping and covered up form on the couch. She stood in front of him and started shaking him to wake him up. He eventually stirred awake and seen Arianna staring down at him. "What is it princess?" He asked, not realizing the possibility of her seeing Elena in his bedroom.

"Did you know that Elena is here, daddy?" She said excitedly. Stefan smiled and got into a sitting position on the couch and pulled her up so that she was on his lap.

"Yes, I did know. She came here last night to visit." He told her. He didn't want to tell her that Elena was moving back home to Mystic Falls. He was leaving that up to her.

"Can I go wake her up?" She asked a little too loudly.

"No, kiddo. Let her sleep. But we can make breakfast and if you want you can help me and we can bring some up to her. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" She said hopping off of his lap and making her way into the kitchen, Stefan hot on her trail.

They worked in silence. Stefan was making scramble eggs and he let her stir them in the bowl before he put them in the pan. After they were done, he put bread in the toaster so everyone could have toast and he made a pot of coffee. After everything was done and they were about ready to bring the stuff upstairs, they heard footsteps on the stairs. Before Stefan could even say anything, Arianna was gone and waiting patiently for Elena to come down the rest of the rest of the steps with a big smile on her face.

Stefan couldn't help but smile. Because even after a year of being away from Elena, Arianna still loved her and looked up to her. For that, Stefan was grateful. Because even now, they were the two most important people in his life and it would probably break his heart if Arianna was being cold to Elena. He knows how much Elena loves Arianna. Even now.

When Elena reached the bottom step, she sat on it so she was eye level with Arianna. Smiling, she pulled her into a hug and told her how much she missed her. Arianna pulled away from her and smiled before speaking. "Me and daddy made breakfast. We were going to bring it up to you but you came downstairs."

Elena smiled and got up from her sitting position on the stairs and let Arianna lead the way into the kitchen. "It smells good." Elena said from the doorway and eyeing Stefan before making her way to the table. Arianna sat down next to her and Stefan gave them each a plate and a mug before sitting down in his seat.

Being like this, just the three of them, it felt normal. It felt like nothing had changed and that they weren't separated for the last year. Even though her and Stefan aren't together right now, she was happy just being with them and she couldn't wait to be back in Mystic Falls for good, with her friends, her family, and Stefan and Arianna.

**A/N** : Not too much more left after this one. 2 or 3 maybe.


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

**xxxxxx**

Elena moved back into her old house. Once she had enough money saved up, she had planned to find her own apartment. She and Stefan were still on good terms with each other. They didn't see each other very often but on the occasions that they did, they got along like nothing had happened between them. Like they didn't spend an entire year away from each other.

Some days Elena would take Arianna out after school just so they could spend time together. Just the two of them. Arianna missed her dad on these days as well but she loved spending time with Elena too and she was grateful for the time that she got with her.

Even with Elena being back in town, Stefan still missed her. He missed the routines that they had on the weekends where he would make her breakfast and he would bring it to her in bed or when they took a walk through the park or during the cold nights, they would cuddle on the couch under a blanket, watching a movie and drinking hot chocolate. He missed those little things and he missed her.

They agreed on taking things one day at a time and seeing where it leads them. On the days that they would see each other, when she would leave his house to go home, she would always give him a hug before she left and sometimes a kiss on the cheek. Sometimes he would kiss her on the cheek but he had to fight the urge to kiss her on her lips. He was tempted to just do it but he was kind of afraid of what her reaction would be.

Elena missed him as much as he missed her. She would often find herself day dreaming of the past and of their time spent together. She would reminisce about all the fun that they had, whether it was just the two of them or if Arianna was with them. When she was with them both before it was like she had her own little family. And that's all that she has wanted for a very long time. A chance at a normal life. A chance to have a family. And even though Elena wasn't Arianna's biological mother, she was a mother figure to her.

She liked being looked up to. She liked being someone's role model. It made her feel special. It made her feel nice. She missed that feeling during the year that she and Stefan spent apart. She missed everything. And even though she had told him when she first came back that she wasn't there to get him back, she couldn't help but want that. She wanted him back. And she was going to get him back.

**xxxxxx**

Stefan heard his door bell so he put the dish towel down on the counter, told Arianna that he would be right back, and he went to answer the door. He was surprised to see Elena on the other side of the door because they usually plan visits. Neither one of them never randomly showed up at the other persons' house. Not that he was complaining because he loved seeing her whenever he had the chance.

"Elena," he started "Hey." He gave her a genuine smile and stepped back and opened the door wider so she could step inside.

"Hey, Stefan." She smiled a genuine smile and gave him a hug. He let his arms wrap around her waist and he pulled her a little closer to him. He liked having her as close as possible.

"Not that I mind but what are you doing here?" He asked her, regretfully pulling away from the hug. He loved being close to her. Secretly, he was breathing in her scent. He smelled the lavender from her shampoo and her favorite perfume and he was instantly filled with longing.

"I wanted to come by and see you." She said smiling. "And Arianna of course. I love spending time with the both of you."

"I was just in the middle of making dinner but you are more than welcome to stay. There will be plenty of it for all three of us and I'm sure Arianna would love to see you." He said smiling and leading the way into the kitchen. She said her thanks and followed right behind him.

When Elena walked into the kitchen, she was instantly greeted with seeing Arianna's cheerful smile and she got up from her seat at the kitchen table and ran to give her a hug.

"Elena!" She squealed after she attached herself to her leg. "I'm so happy you came to see daddy and me. Daddy can she stay and eat with us?" She said detaching herself from Elena and looking up at Stefan giving him big puppy eyes, completely unaware that Stefan had already invited Elena to stay with them.

Stefan gave out a little laugh before answering her. "I already asked her too, kiddo." He said smiling at her and then turning his attention to Elena. "Please sit." He said after he pulled out a chair for her.

'_Always a gentleman_.' She thought to herself and smiled. '_He will never change_.' She said to herself and smiled again. Elena and Arianna chatted away while Stefan prepared whatever it was that he was making. Elena had wanted to ask if he needed help with anything but she knew that he would have told her no anyways so she didn't bother.

Elena and Arianna's conversation consisted of Elena asking questions about school and how she was doing in it. One question brought Stefan's attention over to them, though and he pretended like he didn't hear. He didn't particularly like listening on other peoples' conversations but this was his 5 year old daughter.

"How do you know when a boy likes you, Elena?" Elena looked shocked at the question and turned around to look at Stefan, who was still busy doing whatever it was that he was doing. She knew that he had to of heard her question but wanted to see how she would respond.

"You think a boy likes you?" She asked a little quietly but she also had a hint of a smile on her face. Arianna smiled and giggled.

"Well this boy likes to tease me a lot." She said kind of sadly.

"If a boy is picking on you then there is a good chance that he likes you." Elena said with a smile. She leaned further across the table so that her and Arianna's faces were close together. "Why don't you ask your dad if he can come over for a play date?" Arianna's face turned red but she smiled and nodded her head in agreement. Elena leaned back in her chair and patiently waited for Stefan to finish up.

**xxxxxx**

"Your daughter has her first crush." Elena said smiling after her and Stefan got settled on the couch. After dinner, Arianna wanted to go outside to play and then afterwards, she had a bath and fell asleep after Elena read her a story. Now it was just the two of them in the living room.

"Yeah?" He asked as if he hadn't heard the conversation. "She's not allowed to date until she's 50." He said jokingly making Elena laugh.

"She was smiling while we were talking about this boy. I told her to ask you if it was okay to ask him to come over for a play date. I'm sure it will be fun for the both of them."

"Yeah, I will have to find out what his intentions are." Elena laughed again and lightly smacked his arm.

"They are 5." She started saying but still laughing. "You don't have to worry about having to plan a wedding." She said to him to see what his reaction was. Judging by the horrified expression on his face, she knew that he didn't find her comment amusing at all. "Oh, Stefan." She said lightly giggling. "Lighten up, it was a joke." She went to lightly slap his arm but he gently grabbed her wrist to stop her.

They were looking into each others' eyes like they were the only two people in the world. Like at that moment nothing else mattered. "Elena, what are we doing?" He asked quietly and dropping her wrist from his grip.

"What do you mean?" She asked even though she had a feeling exactly what it was that he meant.

"Us. Here. What are we doing? Is this all we are ever going to be? Friends?" He said, still staring into her eyes.

"We agreed we'd take things one day at a time." She said quietly. "And I was okay with that." She finished.

"Was?" He questioned her. She sat quietly for a minute before answering him.

"I want more." Was all that she managed to get out because before she knew it, he had her face in his hands and he was gently pulling her closer until finally, they met in the middle, sharing a kiss for the first time in over a year.

And that was that. One simple kiss was all it took for all of the feelings that they had for each other to come to the surface. With Stefan, she was safe. With each other, they were home.

**xxxxxx**

It wasn't long before everyone knew the good news. Stefan and Elena were finally back together. And they couldn't have been happier. Their friends and family had told them that they were fooling themselves if they thought that they could only be 'just friends' after the year that they spent apart. They have chemistry. There was tension. They have history. A good history.

Of course everyone was happy for them. They all had said that it would be a matter of time before they got back together. Caroline was their own personal cheerleader who said that they were meant to be together and she couldn't see them staying away from each other for much longer. Even when they were apart, they shared lingering looks and they looked to be in love with each other.

When Arianna heard the news of her dad and Elena getting back together, she was excited. She needed Elena in her life and so did Stefan. Elena was a motherly figure to her and with her recent play date, she needed a girl to talk to about the boy that she had a huge crush on even though she is 5. A play date won't harm anyone. They both enjoyed themselves.

"So," Jenna started saying, "You and Stefan look as happy as ever." She said happily. Everyone was having dinner at Elena's house that evening and Jenna and Elena were preparing things in the kitchen while the others were out back or lingering in the living room.

"We are happy." Elena said, looking over her shoulder through the back door where Stefan and Tyler were standing in the backyard. He caught her looking at him and he gave her a huge smile back. She turned back around to face Jenna. "It's like nothing has changed. I love him. I never stopped." She said happily.

Jenna smiled and put some of her hair behind her ears before answering. "Your parents would have liked them." At the mention of her parents, Elena stopped chopping and looked up at Jenna.

"You think so?" She asked happily. She may have been a troubled teen but at this point in her life, she would have liked having her parents' opinion on things. She took things for granted back then, assuming that they would be around for a while and that she would have had the chance to try and make things up to them for the way that she treated them. Now she's not taking anything for granted but one thing that she would have loved knowing is that they approved of her relationship with Stefan and if they would have loved him just as much as Jenna and everyone else did.

"Oh, definitely." Jenna said simply. "What's not to like about him? He has a good job, he's a damn good father, and if he could he would give you the world." Elena felt herself smile. "I can tell just by looking at him and the mention of your name, how much he loves you." Jenna smiled. "I would give anything for them to be able to see you right now and what an amazing person you grew up to be."

Elena felt a tear roll down her cheeks. She would give anything to be able to see her parents again, to apologize to them and tell them that if she could take back everything she did when she was a teenager that she would do that. She missed her parents' everyday but she knew that they were watching over both her and Jeremy. "I think they would like him, too. And they would adore Arianna." She said, wiping the tears off her face and smiling.

"They would be so proud of both you and Jeremy." Jenna said letting her own tears fall. Elena wrapped her arms around her aunt and pulled her into a hug. "Okay, okay." Jenna said pulling away from the hug. "Enough with the tears, let's enjoy our day." Elena agreed and they both got back to work on what they were preparing.

**xxxxxx**

The meal was good. Everyone seemed happy and full. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Around 8:00, Stefan was getting ready to leave with a half asleep Arianna in his arms. After they said their goodbyes to everyone, Elena walked them out to the front porch.

"We had a good time." Stefan told her while lifting Arianna higher onto his hip. Elena smiled at him before answering.

"I'm glad." She said happily. "But Arianna is tired so you should head home." Arianna yawned right after she said that.

"Yeah, we should get going." He used his other arm that wasn't holding Arianna and pulled Elena into his side and planting a kiss on top of her head. Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan holding him tightly.

"Call me when you get home so I know that you make it safely." She was always so concerned, even when they weren't together.

"Alright baby, I will." She loved when he called her baby. By this point, Arianna was snoring on Stefans shoulder. Elena giggled and kissed her on the cheek before looking up towards Stefan and giving him a kiss on his lips. They said their goodbyes and I love you's and Elena watched as he got Arianna settled into the car. He blew her a kiss before he got into the drivers' seat and driving away.

**A**/**N **: I am so unbelievably sorry that it took me so long to update. I have a lot going on but I did try to make this one as long as I could. I hope I didn't disappoint you.


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

Lots of Stelena fluff to make up for my lack of updates.

**xxxxxx**

The months passed by quickly and soon enough, it was nearing the end of May. Virginia weather was hot and very humid. Elena and Stefan decided that they wanted to leave Mystic Falls for a few days and spend time out by the lake at her parent's lake house. Caroline insisted on keeping Arianna for the time that they were away, continuously saying that Stefan and Elena needed their own time together. Stefan reluctantly agreed. He hated leaving Arianna for days at a time. He had thoughts in the back of his mind that were telling him that Rebekah would never do that but he shook the thoughts from his mind, bringing him back to the present.

After giving Arianna a kiss and a hug good bye, Stefan and Elena made their way out of the house and to the car. After they were settled in the car, they waved to Caroline and Arianna who were watching them leave from the house before they drove away. "You have everything you need, right?" Stefan asked her, bringing their entwined hands up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on the top of her hand. She smiled at the gesture and nodded her head.

"I have everything." She smiled at him and leaned over towards him, placing a kiss on his cheek. She smiled when she felt his hand squeeze hers. "I haven't been to the lake house in years. It's going to bring back a lot of memories of my parents and of me and Jeremy when we were younger." She said stifling the tears back.

"We don't have to go there if you don't want to. We can go somewhere else." He looked over at her quickly. "I would take you anywhere you wanted to go. If Caroline finds out we didn't get out of Mystic Falls she would kill us so we might as well take advantage of the time while we have it." He focused his eyes back on the road.

"No," She started saying "I want to go. It will be a nice little get away for us." She looked over at him. "We can make our own memories." She seen his lips turn up into a smile and couldn't help smiling herself. He had that affect on people. When Stefan smiled, everyone around him smiled. It was just contagious.

"It will be a place to start our own memories." He smiled again and squeezed her hand before once again bringing it up to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on it. "Maybe one day we can bring Arianna up there."

"We can do that. I'm sure she would love it." She said smiling at her thoughts of helping Arianna swim in the lake or Arianna and Stefan fishing out on the dock. "We can build a camp fire with her and roast marshmallows." Stefan smiled at his girlfriend and let out a gentle laugh because she was still a kid at heart.

"We can have s'mores." Thinking of melted marshmallows and chocolate on graham crackers made his mouth water and he realized that he was hungry. "All this talk about marshmallows and s'mores is making me hungry. Let's get something to eat at The Grille before we head out of town." She nodded her head eagerly because she realized that she was hungry too.

**xxxxxx**

The conversation was light while they were eating and they kept shooting each other longing glances. A couple of times Stefan would reach his hand across the table and interlock their fingers together. Anyone who was at The Grille and seen how they looked at each other could tell how in love they were with each other.

When the bill came, Stefan paid and they headed out of The Grille to get back on the road. They walked to his car hand in hand. The drive was silent for a while. But sometimes Elena could feel his eyes on her if they were at a red light or a stop sign. She would look over at him and smile but for the most part, she was lost in her own thoughts.

She was thinking about her parents a lot. After her talk with Jenna she was positive that if her parents were still alive, they would have approved of Stefan and they would have liked him. She was also positive that they would have adored Arianna. Who couldn't love that little girl? She was also thinking of her and Stefans' future. What was in store for them? Would they ever get married? Would it be okay if they got married? She knew Arianna would be more than happy but she didn't want to feel like she was taking her role of her mother.

Then her thoughts drifted to pregnancy. What if she got pregnant but Stefan didn't want any more kids? Would Arianna want a little baby brother or sister? Why was she even having these thoughts? None of this probably would never happen.

Stefan squeezed her hand, bringing her out of her thoughts. When she looked over at him, he was smiling at her. "What are you thinking about?" He turned on to the dirt road leading the way to the lake house.

"We'll talk about it later." She promised. He nodded his head and parked the car in front of the lake house. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car and opened up her door for her.

"I'll get our stuff." He said after he closed her door. He went around to the back of the car and opened the trunk pulling out their bags. Elena offered to take one but he told her no. He noticed that she was looking all around, taking everything in again. All of her memories from the lake house from her child hood all came flooding back to her and she wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes.

She missed her parents so much but she knew that they wouldn't want her to dwell on the past and to make memories of her own. She made her way up the front steps and unlocked the door, holding it open so Stefan can go inside. Once inside and the door was closed, Stefan placed the bags on the floor and took a look around. He looked around the lake house. There were pictures on the wall of Elena as a little girl with her parents and Jeremy. Some were taken outside by the lake. They were a very happy family.

Stefan heard Elena let out a little sob and he wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her head. He rested his chin on her shoulder so he could speak quietly into her ear. "I know being here is hard. Having all these memories come back. And I know you miss your parents. But like you said in the car, we are going to make our own memories here and hopefully they are special enough for you so you don't have to relive the pain of all of your old memories. I promise you, everything is going to be okay." He felt her nod her head and he kissed her cheek. "I love you, Elena and I want you to have a nice relaxing time while we are here. But if you feel like you can't be here anymore, let me know and we will leave and go somewhere else or go back to Mystic Falls."

Elena turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder and breathing him in. She nodded her head again before speaking. "I love you, too, Stefan. And thank you. For everything." She lifted her head off of his chest to look him in the eyes. "This isn't a very good start to making our own memories is it?" She asked letting out a little light laugh. He smiled and put the loose hairs behind her ears before placing his hands on either side of her face.

"No, but we'll start. Right now." She smiled and he pulled her face closer to his, kissing her softly on the lips. When he pulled away, he broke out of her embrace and bent to pick up the bags. "Where do you want me to put these?"

"I can take some, you know." She said but he shook his head no and asked her again. She told him the bedrooms were upstairs and they would be in the room that she used to stay in when she was here. She watched admiringly at his muscles flexing every time he picked up another bag.

She directed him up the stairs and into the right room and he put them on the bed. She got right to work taking the things out and placing them in the bureau that has been there since she was a little girl. The last time she was here she was in her teens and nothing has changed. The bureau was brown, matching the wood of the walls and her bed was a lighter brown.

Stefan decided to test out the bed to see if it was comfortable and after Elena was done putting the clothes away, she decided to lay with him. "This is comfortable." Stefan said jumping lightly on the bed.

Elena giggled. "I know. When I was a teenager and we were here I never wanted to leave my bed. It was too comfy. But my dad always dragged me out of it." Stefan laid down, putting his left arm underneath his head. Elena laid next to him, curled up into his side, resting her head on his shoulder and Stefans' other arm instinctively wrapped itself around her, playing with the ends of her hair and gently rubbing her back.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "He wanted you to enjoy your time while you were here and didn't want you spending the whole time in your bedroom." Stefan felt Elena nod her head against his chest.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's just now when I'm thinking back on things, I took everything for granted. You never know how much time you have left and when you lose the people that you love, that's when you realize how much you took for granted. And I regret ever doing that. I miss my parents so much and I wish they could see how well I've done for myself."

"I know that you miss them." She turned around she was lying on top of him, her hands resting under her chin. His hand that was on her back before moved back to its spot and he started rubbing little circles. "And they see you every day. They are looking down on you, watching over you and Jeremy and I know that they would be proud of the both of you. I'm positive that they would want you try and move on with your life and create your own memories. It's okay to miss them. Just try not to dwell on the past."

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked quietly. He nodded his head yes so she continued. "How long did it take you to get past loosing Rebekah?"

"Well to be honest, I don't think I'll ever completely get past losing her. I'm grateful for you and that we found each other and you know how much I love you and how in love with you I am. It's just that me and her have a daughter together and I see her every day in Arianna. I will always miss her and she will always be in my heart but she would want me to get on with my life so that's what I'm doing. And I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else but you." Stefan took his hands and wiped her tears away that she didn't realize had fallen. "Why are you crying?" He asked soothingly.

"It's just so sad that Arianna won't see her mom and I'm grateful that we found each other, too. I guess I am just emotional today. I'm sorry." She said.

"Don't be sorry. I understand." He started to sit up bringing her with him. She was sitting on his lap facing him and he put his hands on her waist. "Let's go take a walk." She nodded her head yes and got up off of him.

**xxxxxx**

The sun was starting to set after they finished their walk. The just walked around the lake and on the grounds. Stefan and Elena walked hand in hand on to the dock because the setting sun looked perfect from where they stood. The light was shining over the water. Elena was standing in front of Stefan and he had his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her. Her hands were on top of his and her head was leaning back against his shoulder.

"This is beautiful." She said. She sounded nice and relaxed.

"Yeah it is." Stefan said agreeing with her. "So are you." He whispered into her ear making her smile. "I love you so much, Elena and I can't imagine myself being anywhere but here right now. After we lost Rebekah I didn't think I could love anyone else. But then you came along and all that changed. I can't picture my life without you." Stefan unwrapped his arms from her making her grunt in displeasure. She liked having his arms around her. When she turned around to face him, she seen that he was on one knee and was holding a little velvet black box in his hand. "Elena Gilbert, will you marry me?"

She started crying. She had thoughts of their future earlier in the day but she wasn't expecting Stefan to propose to her. The setting was so romantic for it to happen. The walk, watching the sunset in front of the lake with his arms around her, was all so romantic. She nodded her head before speaking. "Yes, Stefan. Yes, I'll marry you." He smiled up at her before taking the ring out of the box and placing it on her finger.

"You have made me the happiest man in the world." He said before kissing her gently. After he pulled away from the kiss, he picked her up and spun her around making her giggle. Once she was placed on the ground, she got a proper look at her ring. It was silver and had a big diamond in the middle surrounded by a bunch of small ones. "Caroline helped me pick it out."

Elena smiled. "Is this why she was telling us to get away and that she would watch Arianna? So you could have the perfect time to ask me?"

"Well I wouldn't have minded if Arianna came with us. You know how much I hate leaving her. And honestly I wasn't planning on asking until the day we left to go home. But it seemed like the perfect time. The setting was perfect with the setting sun and everything." Stefan wiped the still falling tears from her eyes and pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. "I love you so much, Elena."

"I love you, too, Stefan. And I always will."

**A/N** : Stefan is such a romantic. :') Hope you liked!


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

More fluff :)

**xxxxxx**

Stefan and Elena spent a few days at the lake house. They both missed Arianna but knew that Caroline was taking good care of her. Plus, they didn't know how much time they were going to have to get away so they might as well take advantage while they can. Ever since Stefan proposed to Elena the first night they spent there, she hasn't been able to keep her eyes off of her ring. She loved it so much.

It was their last night at the lake house so Stefan thought that it would be a good idea to watch the sunset on the docks just like they did the first night that they were there. The sun was just starting to set and the sky was illuminated with different colors that were dancing off the lake. Elena was sitting in between Stefan's legs, her back pressed to his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. Stefan had his arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace, and their fingers interlocked. Every so often, Stefan would rub his hand over the top of her hands and when he would feel the ring that he gave her, he felt himself smile.

It was peaceful, being out in the middle of the woods with the girl that he loved, watching the sunset together on the docks by the lake. He couldn't think of any other place that he would rather be. He didn't want to disturb the peaceful bliss that they were in but he missed talking to her. "What are you thinking about, beautiful?" He smiled against her cheek while placing a kiss there.

She loved when he called her beautiful. It made her feel special. "Us. Our future and what our lives are going to be like.

"Oh?" He asked. "How is or future in your mind?" He squeezed her hand.

"Well it's perfect. It's everything that I have ever wanted." She smiled. "We have kids. And Arianna is an amazing older sister. Do you think she'd like to be an older sister?" She asked him.

"I think she'd love that. But are you sure you want to have kids?" He didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want, even though he always wanted more. He just didn't think he would ever get the chance to again but now that he has a future with Elena and she's up for it, he was happy.

"Of course. It's what I have wanted for a while now." She told him, turning her head slightly to look at him. He started playing with her ring and she smiled.

"What else are you thinking about?" He asked her, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

"How I can't wait to be your wife." She smiled when she felt him place a kiss to her cheek and she felt his smile.

"I can't wait for that, either. You will be Mrs. Elena Salvatore." She couldn't help the smile that formed. "I never thought that I would ever have the chance to be happy again." He told her truthfully. "Until you came along and changed all that. And for that, I am grateful. You make me so happy, Elena. I love you." He said into her ear.

"You make me happy, too. And I'm glad that I can give you what you want." She turned to him and placed a kiss on his lips. "And I love you, too." She kissed him again. "When do you want to get married?"

"Whenever you want is fine with me. I just can't wait to make you my wife." She couldn't help the smile that formed. He didn't want a long engagement and was secretly hoping that she didn't want a long one, either.

"I want to get married at the end of the Summer. Is that okay with you?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. She really didn't want to wait long to marry him.

"That's fine with me." She smiled at him, happy that he agrees.

"And Arianna can be the flower girl." She said excitedly and she seen his face light up when she said that. "I think she would love to be the flower girl and she would look so cute in a pretty pink dress. And I think a small ceremony will be fine. Just our family and close friends. And we can have it in your back yard." She looked at him again, hopeful.

"That's all fine with me. But there's one thing that needs to be changed if you don't mind." He said, looking into her eyes.

"Of course not. What is it?" She replied, hoping it was nothing bad.

"The wedding will have to be in our back yard." She looked at him in confusion. "You practically live there anyways. So you might as well move the rest of your stuff in."

She smiled and nodded her head. "The wedding will be in our back yard." He smiled at her before cupping her cheeks and pulling her in for a light kiss.

**xxxxxx**

Even though it was the end of May, after the sun finally set, it started to get chilly out by the lake. Stefan held out his hands to help her up and they walked hand in hand back into the house.

"I'm going to go take a bath." Elena told him and she placed a kiss on his cheek before making her way to the stairs to go get clothes. Stefan locked the doors and the windows just to be on the safe side because even though he felt calm and relaxed out in the woods, you can never be too safe. He also decided to surprise Elena by making her, her favorite meal, chicken parmesan and a garden salad. After that was all prepared, he found a bottle of red wine and poured them each a glass. He set up a small fire just to add to the romantic setting and atmosphere. He lit two candles after he placed them on the table.

By the time he heard the bathroom door open, everything was prepared and dished out. When she came down the stairs, he noticed her hair was still wet and there were still tiny droplets of water on her skin. She was wearing pajama shorts and one of his t-shirts and he thought that she still looked beautiful. She was glowing.

When she noticed the fire, the candles, and the dinner, she couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes and fell. Thinking that he did something wrong, he went over to her and wrapped her in his embrace trying to soothe her. "Don't cry, baby." He said quietly.

She cried for a minute or so before she was finally able to speak. "I'm just happy. I'm so happy." She said sniffling. "You are so great to me and I never know what to do for you." He cupped her face and wiped away the remaining tears.

"I don't expect you to do anything. Just loving me and Arianna is enough." She smiled before pulling him into her and giving him a kiss. After pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and grabbed her hands. "I promise you, knowing how much you love me and Arianna is enough for me." She smiled and kissed him again. "I hope you're hungry. I made your favorite."

"Chicken parmesan?" She asked happily. He nodded his head and lead the way to the table, pulling out her chair for her and pushing her in after she was settled. After he was settled, they started to eat.

**xxxxxx**

They were lying on the floor under blankets, Elena's head was on his chest and she was drawing circles wherever she could. Stefan had his arm draped around her back, lightly playing with her hair. Every so often, he would place kisses on the top of her head. They were near the slowly dying fire, watching it go out. "What are you thinking about?" She asked him.

"You." He told her, making her blush. "And our wedding day. Where do you want to go for our Honeymoon?" She rolled over so she was laying on top of him and rested her chin on top of her hands.

"You let me decide everything else. You can decide where we go for our Honeymoon." She said with a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"Hmm," He said pondering. "I'm thinking Paris." Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. He had a feeling that's where she was hoping he would say. Truthfully, to him, it didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was that she would be by his side.

"I've always wanted to go there." She said excitedly. "And going there for our Honeymoon is going to make it that much more special." She said happily.

"A special place for a special girl." He said smiling.

"Thank you for picking Paris." She said with a huge smile.

"You're welcome." He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. She was happy and that's all that mattered to him.

**A**/**N** : Hmm two updates in one week. :)


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer** : I do not own TVD or the characters.

Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! =D

Follow me on **Twitter** if you want: love_paulx0

**xxxxxx**

The weeks went by quickly following their visit to the lake house. When Stefan and Elena told Arianna the news about them getting married, she went over to Elena and hugged her tightly. She told Elena that will be the best mom for her and she couldn't ask for someone better. Elena cried. She wasn't expecting Arianna to look up to her as a mom or call her mom, but the statement was bittersweet and Elena was happy that she does think of her like a mother.

Jeremy and Jenna were one of the first people to find out about their engagement. Of course, they were both happy for Stefan and Elena. They think that Stefan is the best thing to happen to Elena and they both gave them their blessing. Jenna also told Elena that during their time apart, she was secretly hoping that they would find their way back to each other because she thought that they were meant to be.

Caroline was trying to help with the wedding preparations but usually when Caroline wants to help with something, she wants to take charge. Elena told her that she could help but she wanted to be in charge of her own wedding. Caroline understood and is helping Elena the way that she wanted. Bonnie was also helping with some things but Elena told her to take it easy. After Stefan and Elena came back from the lake house, Bonnie informed them both that her and Damon were expecting a baby. Elena cried and hugged Bonnie, Stefan congratulated them both and said that it was about time they made him an uncle. Elena told them that she was happy for them both and that she couldn't wait to be an aunt.

Arianna liked the idea of being a flower girl in the wedding. She said that she would love an excuse to wear a pretty dress and to throw flowers on the ground. She was looking forward to the wedding and Elena let her pick out her own dress. Luckily, it was a light pink which is what Elena was secretly hoping that she would choose.

Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, and Jenna have been searching for the perfect wedding dress for Elena. They have been in multiple boutiques but have yet to find the perfect one for her. She wanted something simple, but elegant and beautiful. They were each looking at different racks when Elena heard Caroline say something from behind her.

"What about this one?" They turned around to face Caroline and seen that she was holding up a white strapless dress. The top part was lace, the middle was silk, and the bottom popped out like a bell. On the top part where the bell begins, there is a small white flower with a silver ball in the middle. The skirt also has lace covering it. Elena was speechless. It was exactly what she was looking for. Something simple, but still elegant. "What do you think, Elena?" Caroline asked her.

"It's perfect." Elena said walking over to Caroline to look more closely. "I love it. But I am worried about something." She said and looked away from her friends and aunt.

"What is it, Elena?" Caroline asked. Typical Caroline, having to know everything. She has been this way since high school. But Elena figured that now was a good of time as any to tell them because they were all together, anyways.

"Well, you see," Elena said looking at Bonnie. "Stefan and I," She looked away again. "We're pregnant." She was avoiding Bonnie's eyes. "We didn't plan it, we were safe, but it just happened and we didn't want to tell anyone because we didn't want you to feel like we did it to be in the spot light." She said finally looking at Bonnie in the eyes. "We wanted to wait at least a year before we considered starting to try for a baby but it just happened and I'm sorry, Bonnie."

Bonnie pulled her into a hug trying to soothe her. "Elena," She started saying. "You are my best friend and I am thrilled for you and Stefan, and even Arianna because I know that she will love being an older sister. But you have no reason to be sorry. You and Stefan deserve to have a family and I couldn't be happier for the both of you. We're best friends and we are pregnant at the same time." She started rubbing Elena's back lightly. "We can do this together." Bonnie pulled away from the hug and Elena wiped her eyes.

"Thank you." Elena said. Caroline and Jenna came over and hugged her, too, congratulating her and telling her how happy they were for her. "Elena, are you afraid that you are going to have to take out your dress because of your belly?" Caroline asked, scanning the aisle for another dress just in case.

"Well, yes, I am." Elena said looking over at her. She put her hand on her stomach and Bonnie and Jenna smiled at the gesture.

"Elena, you're getting married in a month. I don't think you are going to have to worry about having to get your dress taken out." Caroline replied, looking over from the dress to Elena's flat stomach. She wasn't that far along. Surely, her stomach wouldn't grow that quickly.

"You think it will be okay?" She asked looking over at Jenna. She would hate to buy the dress to have it get readjusted before the wedding.

"Yeah, you should be." Jenna replied. Elena nodded her head and they went to buy the dress. The next step was to get Jenna's Maid of Honor dress and Caroline and Bonnie's Bridesmaid dresses. They were going to be the same light pink as Arianna's and Jenna's dress was going to be a little darker pink. The backyard of their house was going to have white chairs set up for the guests, a white altar that Stefan and Elena were going to stand under, and on the altar there is going to be the same pink flowers that Arianna was going to throw. Elena was glad that Stefan agreed to everything because she wanted to have pink everything.

**xxxxxx**

Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, and Jenna had stopped for lunch after they found the dresses for them. Jenna's was a dark pink, one shouldered dress and it had a flower at the waist. Caroline and Bonnie's was the same dress, just a different shade of pink. Everything was coming together nicely and now that everyone had their attire, she felt a lot better than what she did before.

"So how does Arianna feel about the baby?" Bonnie asked. They were sitting at the Mystic Grille enjoying their lunch. Elena hasn't even thought about how they were going to tell Arianna or how she would handle it because they haven't told her. They wanted to wait until after their wedding.

"We haven't told her yet." She looked over at Caroline. "And we aren't going to tell her until after the wedding." She squinted her eyes at Caroline in a playful manner.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Caroline asked a little dumbfounded. "I can keep a secret." Bonnie had to stifle a laugh because that was a lie. Caroline could never keep a secret.

"Caroline, that's a lie." Jenna said. "I have known you for far too long to believe that." Jenna laughed. "You have go to be the worst person at keeping secrets." Caroline crossed her arms over her chest and got all pouty.

"Oh, Caroline, knock it off." Elena told her. "I would just appreciate it if no one tells her. Stefan and I are going to tell her when the time is right, after the wedding. I just moved in after we got back from the lake house and when we got back we told her that we were getting married. I don't want her to hate me and to think that the new baby is going to replace her."

"She won't think that. She's going to love having a baby brother or baby sister. When she was the Day Care, she got along so well with the other kids, on the rare occasions that she played with them. She has been attached at your hip since she met you, Elena." Bonnie said, smiling. "She loves you."

Elena smiled because she knew it was true. When Arianna was at the Day Care and Elena was there, she hardly interacted with the other kids. But when she did, she got along with them nicely and she knew that she would be happy with her baby brother or baby sister. It was just telling her at the right time was the problem.

"Stefan is happy about the baby?" Jenna asked. Elena looked over at her aunt with a big smile and nodded her head before answering.

"He's thrilled. Like I said at the boutique earlier, we didn't want this to happen before the wedding. We wanted to be settled with each other and married for at least a year before but it just sort of happened. But yes, he's thrilled. Beyond thrilled, actually. He's always kissing my stomach before we go to sleep." The three other girls smiled at her before finishing their lunch.

**xxxxxx**

"You're back." Stefan said smiling, when he seen Elena walk in through the door. Jenna is keeping all the dresses at her house. Elena doesn't want Stefan seeing her dress until the wedding day. "How are my babies?" He asked when he reached where she was standing by the stairs. Elena smiled as he kissed her and he placed his hand on her stomach.

"Miss us?" Elena asked after she pulled away and she placed her hand on top of Stefan's hand that was on her stomach. Stefan smiled at her and placed a kiss on her cheek before he decided to answer her question.

"Of course," He began. "I always miss you when you are gone." He finished, placing another kiss on her cheek. "And I missed the little one, too." Elena could feel his smile against her cheek which made her smile. She was glad that she was able to give him this. A new addition to their family.

"We missed you, too. And Arianna." Elena replied before making her way into the living room and sitting on the couch. "Where is she?" She asked him as he sat down next to her on the couch. He placed his pointer finger up to his lips, signaling silence before pointing to the ceiling.

"I went upstairs to check on her and she was sleeping. She fell asleep with a book in her hands." Stefan said smiling. She had finally got the hang of reading and was pretty good at it.

"That's my girl." Elena said smiling. She was the one to finally get Arianna to feel comfortable reading by herself. Her and Stefan worked together to teach her how to read but in the end, it was Elena who got her to feel comfortable reading by herself. "She's so smart." She said proudly.

Stefan smiled before answering. "Yeah, she is." He took her hand and placed a kiss on top of it. "Did you have a good day?" He asked her.

"Yes. A very good day. We found all the dresses and I told them about our little one." She said, placing their hands on top of her stomach. "I know we agreed not to tell anyone until after the wedding but I was worried I would have to get my dress fixed and Caroline asked why. You know how nosy she can be." She looked over at Stefan and seen him smile before letting out a small laugh because he did know how nosy she can be. "They were happy for us and I apologized to Bonnie because I didn't want her to think that we were stepping in her spot light. But she was so understanding and happy and said that we will be pregnant together, and we will get through our pregnancy together."

"I'm glad they are all happy. Caroline isn't going to tell Arianna, is she?" Stefan asked worriedly. That's one thing that he didn't want. It should be up to him and Elena to tell her, no one else.

"No, I asked her not to. It should be us to tell her and I hope that she can keep this secret." Stefan smiled before wrapping his arm around Elena's shoulder and pulling her close to him. He kissed the side of her head before speaking.

"We are going to have a family. You, me, Arianna, and the baby. We're all going to be okay." Elena sighed before resting closer into his side and nodding her head. After a little while, even though it was the middle of the day, she fell asleep on his shoulder.

**A**/**N** :Thoughts?


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer : I do not own TVD or the characters.

**xxxxxx**

The weeks went by and soon enough, it was the night before the wedding. Stefan and Elena agreed to spend the night away from each other and by the time they would be set to arrive back at the house the following day, everything would be set up and in place. Arianna still didn't know about the baby but they had plans on telling her after the wedding. Elena was starting to sport a very tiny baby bump but it wasn't big enough for anyone to notice. At least not yet.

Arianna was in her room, packing her own over night bag. Elena was taking her to spend the night at Jenna's house with her. Elena was in hers and Stefan's bedroom packing a bag of her own when she felt strong arms slide around her waist. She smiled as she leaned into his embrace and back against his chest. She slightly turned her head so she was able to look up at him and placed a light kiss against his jaw.

"How's mommy and baby?" He smiled to himself as he asked, liking the sound of the word mommy coming out of his mouth. He put his hands on her stomach and she placed hers on top of his, looking down and smiling.

"We're great." She replied. "Mommy's just a little nervous about tomorrow." She admitted. "What if I fall?" He couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped from his lips.

"You're not going to fall." He promised her. "Everything is going to go as planned, you'll see. And then after, you'll be Mrs. Elena Salvatore." She smiled at his words before responding.

"Mrs. Elena Salvatore." She repeated. "I like the sound of that." He smiled at her and kissed her quickly.

"So do I." He said and he kissed her again.

**xxxxxx**

"Elena, Elena!" She heard the next morning. Groaning, she rolled over onto her side attempting to get back to sleep at least for another hour. She wasn't getting married until afternoon so she still had time to sleep for a little bit longer. She buried her head back into the pillow not even bothering to look up to see who the intruder was. Until she heard it again. "Elena, Elena!" Groaning, she sat up in bed and stopped Arianna from jumping on the bed in her old room.

"What is it Arianna?" She asked rubbing the tiredness from her eyes and rubbing her face quickly. Arianna plopped down right in front of her so that they were able to see each other face to face.

"You have to get up, Elena." Arianna said sternly with no hint of a smile on her face.

"Why?" Elena asked, deciding to play whatever game Arianna was trying to play.

"Because you are marrying my daddy today." She said happily. Elena couldn't help the smile the formed and looked down because she was starting to blush.

"I know Ari but that's not until later." She said. "Can't I sleep a little more?" She couldn't believe she was asking a child if she could sleep a little longer. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"Jenna says no." Arianna said standing up on the bed again. "So get up." She said sternly and with authority.

"Fine." Elena threw the covers aside and quickly got out of bed. She couldn't believe the authority that Arianna had in her voice and that she was actually listening to what she was telling her what to do. It's like the roles were reversed. They made their way downstairs, Elena in the lead with Arianna trailing behind her.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Elena's jaw dropped. On the table sat a big vase of red roses and a smiling Jenna standing next to them. "Look at the pretty flowers!" Arianna squealed, running around from behind Elena and standing next to Jenna, looking up the at flowers and admiring them.

"Elena, these came for you this morning." Jenna said smiling. "I didn't look for a card though but I think I already know who they are from." She said once again smiling but into her nieces direction this time. Elena ran down the stairs and went to where Jenna was standing next to the table that the flowers were set on. Elena smelled them quickly before looking for a card.

"Found it." She said after a few moments. She opened it up and read it out loud. "'_Good morning my beautiful bride to be. I hope you like the flowers, I thought you might like the surprise. See you soon my love. I love you, Stefan.'"_

"My daddy sent you flowers?" Arianna asked. "How come I didn't get anything, not even a toy." She said with a pout on her face. Jenna knelt down so that she was at eye level with Arianna.

"Ari, today is about your daddy and Elena." She started. "It's not about toys. They are getting married today and wouldn't you rather have Elena in your life forever than some silly toy that you will probably only use a few times and then forget about it?" Jenna asked seriously.

Arianna looked down towards the floor and started to shuffle her feet. "Yeah, I want Elena in my life forever." Elena didn't know if it was the hormones from the pregnancy or something else but she couldn't help but cry. She loved Arianna so much and that was probably one of the most adorable things that Arianna had ever said about Elena.

Jenna smiled and stood back up and it was Elena's turn to kneel down in front of Arianna. "I want you in my life forever, too." Elena said smiling and she pulled Arianna in for a hug. "Hey, I'm going to go call your dad and thank him for the flowers. Do you want to say hi to him?" Arianna smiled a big smile and pulled away from Elena.

"Yes, let's go!" Arianna said excitedly. She did miss her father.

**xxxxxx**

Hours later, Elena was finally walking down the aisle. She was staring straight ahead and was looking right at Stefan, who she noticed hasn't taken his eyes off of her since he seen her come outside. When she finally reached him, Jeremy gave her away and Stefan immediately took her hands into his, rubbing his thumbs over the tops of her hands.

The priest started but they weren't paying too much attention. They were too busy staring at each other and getting lost in each others eyes to even notice what was going on. "_I love you._" Stefan mouthed to her, making her smile and she squeezed his hands.

"_I love you_." She mouthed back, making him smile. She could faintly hear someone crying behind her and she assumed that it was Caroline because she is over emotional. But Elena knew that pretty soon, she would be crying too.

They were broken out of their trance when Elena felt someone give her a slight nudge. It was time for the vows and they didn't even realize that they were at that part of the ceremony already. Stefan went first.

"Elena, since I first met you I knew I wanted to have you in my life. We grew close, we dated, we fell in love, and we broke up. But what's important is that we are here together, right now. In front of all of our friends and family and we are going to make a promise to each other and to God that we will be together forever. And I can't wait to start my forever with you and our family." Elena started to cry almost instantly and he unlatched their hands and wiped away her tears. "You're too beautiful to cry." He whispered making her smile.

Soon enough, it was Elena's turn to speak. "Stefan, when I first met you, I was a wreck. My life, it was a wreck. But you have stuck by me through everything and I love you so much for that. For us, our forever, it begins today. And I can't wait for it to start." There were "awws" heard all around and after the rings were given, it was time for Stefan to kiss his bride. So he did.

**xxxxxx**

They planned on going to Paris. And they were going to go but the following day. Caroline offered to take Arianna for the night so she was staying at Caroline and Tyler's house. Then from there, Arianna was going to spend time at Jenna's so that Stefan and Elena could go to Paris. But for now, they were going to stay their wedding night in the comfort of their own home.

Stefan carried her over the threshold bridal style. When they arrived, she noticed that there were rose petals on the floor. Elena noticed that the roses that Stefan sent to her that morning were on the table in the living room. Stefan carried her to the stairs where there were more rose petals and the floor up the stairs had them too. They were leading to two different rooms, the bathroom and their bedroom. He went in the direction of the bathroom.

The first thing she noticed was that there were candles surrounding the bath tab that already had bubbles in it, and of course, more rose petals. Next to the tub was a bucket of ice and a jug of apple juice with two champagne glasses sitting next to it. "Apple juice?" She asked with a slight smile on her face. He chuckled a little bit.

"You can't have champagne." She smiled up at him before kissing him on his cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered up at him.

"For what?" He asked setting her down on her feet.

"For everything." She replied. "For giving me what I have always wanted, for letting me be apart of yours and Arianna's life, for giving me the chance to have a family." She smiled. "With you, Arianna, and this one." She said looking down at her stomach and placing her hand on her barely there baby bump.

He used his index finger and lifted her chin so she was facing him and he kissed her. It was a sweet kiss but it was filled with love and passion. "You're welcome." He said smiling. "Now we don't want this bubble bath going to waste do we?"

"Oh no, of course not. And we can't let the apple juice go to waste, either." She said seriously. She loves apple juice so she really was glad that he chose that to put inside the bucket for them.

**xxxxxx**

They put bubbles on their face pretending to be Santa Clause, like they were little kids again. They drank their apple juice, they kissed, they laughed, they talked about their lives, their future. They were carefree at the time and they were happy. Eventually, when their skin started to get wrinkled from being in the water too long, they got out. Stefan wrapped them both up in a towel and blew the candles out in the bathroom and once again, picked her up and carried her but this time to their bedroom.

Just like the rest of the house, their bedroom had rose petals leading up to the bed. On the middle of the bed, there was a black velvet box. Elena looked up to Stefan in surprise because really, he out did himself with the roses that morning and the decorations in the house. But she did love surprises.

He set her down and walked with her to the bed so she could get the box. Once she had it in her hands, he took it and opened it up for her revealing a shiny diamond necklace. She gasped and looked from the necklace up to Stefan. "Stefan." She said quietly. "You didn't have to get me this." She looked up at him with teary eyes.

"I know." He said taking the necklace out. "But I wanted to. I want to give you anything and everything." He told her truthfully. "I love you, Elena. And I want to give you the best life possible. And I know buying you expensive jewelry won't do that but you should be surprised every once in a while." She turned around and moved her still wet hair to the side to let him clasp the necklace around her neck. Once he was done, he rested his hands on her shoulders. She brought her hand up to rest on her necklace and he quickly kissed a spot on her shoulder. She felt him smile against her cheek as she leaned further back against him, and she turned her head slightly so she could kiss him.

"I love you too, Stefan. And I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you." She said sadly.

"You are giving me something." She turned around to face him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You are giving me what I have wanted as well. And I didn't think it was possible after everything that happened before but you are giving me a second chance at a family." She smiled and kissed him once more and from there, their forever began.

**A / N** : I think this is it for this story. I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
